Keys To The Hearts
by LadyLannister97
Summary: Sora is an upbeat teenager who wants to see other worlds with his friends. May and Sarina are your average teenage girls who are having an interesting summer. But when the heartless invasion tears their worlds apart, they must band together and save the worlds from eternal darkness, along Donald and Goofy, who are searching for their king, Mickey.
1. Destiny Islands

This dream was the strangest of them all so far.

He dreamed of falling from station to station, all of having some kind of princess on them. There was nothing else but these stations, which each had the stained glass image of a beautiful princess. Everything else was complete darkness.

He had to make choices. Did he want a sword, a staff, or a shield? He picked the sword. Which one would he give up? He gave up the shield. He had to fight these spider-like monsters with the sword he picked. All this happened while a mysterious voice guided him. The scariest part was when he fought a monster that was at least ten times larger than them all. Yet the voice encouraged him to not be afraid. ' _You hold the mightiest weapon of all. So don't forget, you will be the one to open the door,'_ the voice said. It sounded oddly squeaky for some reason.

' _Open the door? What does that even mean?'_

* * *

When he finally woke up, he realized he was lying on the beach of his home world, Destiny Islands. After yawning for a second, he decided to lie back down. _What I am doing here again? I might as just lie back down._

He didn't get to do that though because as he started lie back, a girl suddenly popped up in his vision.

"Whoa!" He said, shocked. She giggled.

"Gimme me a break, Kairi." Kairi was one of his best friends. She had short, auburn hair, violet-blue eyes, and pale skin. She was dressed in her usual white and black tank top while also wearing a short purple skirt and purple and white sneakers. He himself had spiky brown hair, bright blue eyes, and tanned skin. He wore a black and white over jacket, a red jumpsuit, white with yellow glove, and large yellow sneakers.

"Sora, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you snoozing down here," she teased. By then, Sora realized what he was supposed to be doing. _We're building a raft. I totally forgot about that. Oops._ He can be a little bit of a ditz sometimes.

"No! This huge, black THING swallowed me up!" He tried to explain. It seemed so real! "I couldn't breathe, I couldn't—OW!" He said as he rubbed the back of the head where she just whacked.

"Are you still dreaming?" She asked while bending down to his eye level. _It's not a just a dream, it couldn't be._

"It wasn't a dream," He protested, "Or was it, I don't know."

"What was that place? So bizarre." It just felt…really strange but important at the same time.

"Yeah sure," Kairi said in disbelief. She walked towards the ocean. Sora started to question her.

"Say Kairi, what was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?" He had wanted to know since he met her. He remembered it was yesterday, he was only five when he found her washed up on the shore, seemingly out of nowhere. _She was the prettiest girl I ever saw, and she is still pretty now…wait what?_ Thoughts like these popped up lately without warning whenever he was around her. It was pretty uncomfortable. It was never like that the year before.

"I told you before. I don't remember." That was the same response as always. Still, there must be _something_ she remembers.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing."

"You ever wanna go back?" He asked. She pondered it for a second.

"Well, I'm happy here," she answered. Kairi was adopted by the mayor shortly after she was found. She was the only pale member in the family, as everyone else was much more darker skinned. However, when he was over the mayor's house, he could see that she was treated no different than her adopted siblings . And she was one of the most popular girls in school for being a perfect mixture of kind, smart, and pretty. _There you go with pretty again, Sora. Don't think of her like that, she's only your best friend!_ "Really…"

"But you know, I wouldn't mind going to see it," she added. He nodded.

"I'd like to see it too, along with any other worlds out there. I want to see em' all!" He boasted.

Kairi grinned. "So what're we waiting for?"

"Hey, aren't you guys forgetting about me?" A male voice called out, catching the young teens' attention. A tall and muscular teenage boy with long silver hair, pale skin, and cyan eyes walked over to them while carrying a log over his shoulder. He wore a yellow vest and collar, two blue bracelets, black shorts reaching down his knees, and white and blue sneakers. _Riku, our other best friend. He's fifteen, a year older than us. He and I are always competing._

"So I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." He threw the log on Sora, catching the brunette off guard. He then strode towards Kairi.

"You're just as lazy as he is!" He said, slightly bending down towards her eye level and putting his hands on his hips. She blushed and rubbed her head. "So you noticed. Okay we'll finish this together! I'll race you!" That caught Sora and Riku's attention.

"Huh?" "What, are you kidding?" Kairi simply smirked.

"Ready? Go!" The two boys quickly got up and raced, each determined to beat the other, with Kairi running after them laughing _._

Me and Riku? we always competing with each other over the tiniest things. The frustrating thing being him beating me almost every time. Well not this time!

* * *

May

Her dream is sort of strange. She walks and walks on a plain grass field with the sun beaming brightly upon her. A rather disorientated voice speaks to her.

 _Don't you remember? You used to run off to the fields here and have me look for you for hours._

 _Who are you?_

May wakes up just before she can get an answer. The morning light shines upon her eyes from her bedroom window.

"Another weird ass dream," she comments to herself. May takes a quick moment to yawn before rising from her bed. _Where the hell are they coming from anyway?_

At fourteen, May was a bright and sunny teenage girl who loved being outside and basking in the summer air. Her skin was a dark brown, her eyes were also dark brown, and she had bushy black hair that she usually maintained by putting them in various protective styles such as cornrows or plaits.

After getting up from her bed, May walked out of her room and walked downstairs to the kitchen to get a morning snack.

Only to find her twin sister, Rini, huddled in a corner. Sarina was only about a shade lighter than her with dark auburn hair and green eyes. She was shy, withdrawn, and generally quiet unless it was family.

"What's wrong?" May asked her.

"Bad dream," the other twin replied while burying her head between her knees.

* * *

Sora

He lost. _Again_. Although Riku was his very best friend for as long as he could remember, it was slightly frustrating how he always beat him at everything, especially with Kairi always watching. _She probably thinks I'm a loser...wait why am I worrying about this?_ Maybe, it was due to Riku's more muscular build, but still. _I'm faster than him, I should be able to catch up to him!_ Nonetheless, he congratulated his friend, and went on his way. After all, rivals they were, they were still the best of friends before Kairi. _I can't remember a day when Riku wasn't in my life._

Walking around the island, he encountered their other friends, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka, and dueled with them. Surprisingly, he beat them all, although Selphie was rather fast despite fighting with a jump rope. He even managed to beat them all at the same time. _Maybe I'll be able to beat Riku the next time we battle_! Even they were shocked, although Tidus said that Riku destroyed them all together pretty quickly. That was a slight blow to his mood, along with Tidus stating that Kairi could count on Riku, and specifically only Riku.

Selphie also made him feel awkward by reminding him of the legend of the Paopu Fruit. Paopu fruits were yellow, star-shaped fruits that grew on Destiny Islands' palm trees. It is said that when two people share one, they will be with each other for all of eternity. It was definitely a favorite among many couples on this island. Would he share it with somebody someday? _Perhaps Kai...dammit, enough!_

* * *

Later at sunset, he sat on a hanging tree with Kairi, while Riku laid against it.

"So, Kairi's home is somewhere out there, right?" Sora asked the both of them, particularly Kairi. He found it sad that she had not seen her home in years.  
She doesn't remember her parents either, only her grandmother.

"Could be," Riku said, "We'll never know by staying here." Sora looked over towards him.

"But how far could a raft take us?" The ocean surrounding the island was huge, who knows how long they'll last among the waves with just a raft. Riku shrugged.

"Who knows? If we have to, we'll have to think of something else," he simply responded back. By then Kairi began to speak. She was strangely quiet.

"So suppose you get to see another world," she started, "What would you do there?" She inquired. Their older friend pondered it for a moment.

"Well, I haven't really thought about it. It's just…I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds…Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater," he explained. "So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" He finished, looking up at them.

"I don't know," Sora simply stated, lying back on the tree with his hands behind his head. Seeing other worlds seemed fun, but he liked the world they lived in. He was born here after all. He loved basking in the warm sun all day, running along the white shores of the beach, eating ripe fruit that exploded in his mouth, and swimming in the crystal clear ocean. He loved Destiny Islands, it was _home. What world could possibly compare?_

"Exactly," Riku pointed out. "That's why we need to go out there and find out." He stood up and looked towards the ocean. "Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go," he decided. Kairi tilted her head. "You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?" She asked him. He turned towards her.

"Thanks to you. If you haven't come here, I probably would've never thought of any of this. Kairi, thanks."

She giggled and blushed a red Sora didn't like for some reason. "You're welcome," she replied.

They all began to walk home on the pier, with Kairi way ahead of them. Sora walked in front of Riku.

"Sora," Riku called. Sora whipped around to face him, only to catch a paopu fruit in his hands. He looked down at it in confusion.

"You wanted one, didn't you?" His friend asked him.

"A papou fruit…?" Sora responded, confused. _Why would I need one?_

"If two people shared one, their destinies become intertwined," Riku explained, ignoring Sora's question. "They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what," he finished, walking past Sora. He began to snicker. "C'mon, I know you want to try it," he teased.

"What are you talking about—"Sora stopped in realization as Riku laughed and ran. He tossed the fruit of the pier quickly and ran after his friend in anger.

* * *

Donald

Disney Castle was a lively and bright world ruled by Queen Minnie and her consort and his best friend, King Mickey.

Donald Duck, the Court Magician, proudly walked the halls of the castle, passing by sentient broomsticks carrying buckets of water. He wore an amethyst purple wizard hat, while also wearing a long blue coat over a navy blue jacket. He stood in front of a huge purple door; the entrance to the main courtroom. Puffing his chest, he knocked on the door. Hearing no response, he walked in a much smaller entrance within the door.

"Good morning, Your Majesty. It's good to see you this morning," he greeted while walking along the long red carpet, expecting his best friend to reply.

Only to find the throne to be completely empty.

"What!" He exclaimed, starting to panic. Pluto emerged from behind the throne, carrying a sealed letter in his mouth. Donald took the letter from the dog's mouth, and read through it.

"WAH!"

He ran, screaming out the room and down the halls.

He ran out into the courtyard where Goofy, Captain of the Royal Knights, lay on the ground, sleeping.

"Wake up, Goofy, wake up! This is serious!" Donald yelled. Goofy continued to sleep, snoring loudly. Irritated, Donald casted a thunder spell on the dog, shocking him awake. Goofy sat up and wiped his eyes groggily. He looked at his friend, tiredly.

"Hey there, Donald. G'morning," he greeted. Donald waved his hands frantically.

"We got a problem, Goofy! But don't tell anyone…"He whispered, leaning in. Goofy tilted his head, confusingly.

"Queen Minnie?" He asked. Donald shook his head.

"Not even the queen," Donald warned.

"Daisy?" Goofy continued, talking of the Duchess and Donald's wife.

"NO!" Donald yelled, getting impatient. "It's top secret!"

Goofy looked over, behind him.

"G'morning ladies!" He greeted.

"Wha-," Donald said as he turned around. In front of them stood a worried Queen Minnie and an angry Daisy, who had her hands on her hips. The court wizard chuckled nervously.

* * *

Sarina

Her nightmares are too horrible to speak aloud. They all involve monsters, seemingly made from the dark corners of hell, invading the earth and destroying everything in their path. She seen her parents and her younger siblings get their hearts torn out by these creatures while more seemingly crawl out of the ground.

Even when she wakes up, the screams still burn in her mind and that's why she can't find herself sleeping without a light on at night anymore.

"I want to watch _Dawn of the Dead_ ," Angelique, her younger sister, said. It was another night in the Grey household. Angie was taller and much lighter than both her and May, but had auburn hair and green eyes just like her. She resembled their father the most of all his children.

May shook her head as she laid on the couch, playing some game on her PSP. Sarina sat on the other couch, staring at the TV screen, trying to focus on the current channel that was on instead of the bad thoughts inside of her head.

"I rather watch _Night of the Living Dead._ It's so much scarier," her older twin replied. Their little brothers, Gabriel and Michael, were most likely upstairs fighting over something. Angie pouted, which was the usual sign that an argument was coming. " _Dawn_ has better atmosphere!"

"No, _Night_ does," May argued, not even looking up from the game screen.

" _Dawn_ has better gore and characters!" Angie replied while growing a whine in her voice.

"Heavy amounts of gore do not make a better horror movie."

"Rini!" Both of her sisters called her nickname at the same time, wanting her to pick a side and be forced to speak. She was perfectly content to actually not watch a horror movie at all tonight.

"Wh-what about Star Wars?" She said, her voice barely a whisper. That was her quick and go-to answer when her sisters were arguing on movies, which was practically every night.

"Which one?" Angie replied as May pondered it.

" _Revenge of The Sith!/Return of The Jedi!"_ Both sisters said again at the same time. Angie and May looked at each other, glared and started arguing again.

Sarina sighed.

* * *

Sora

The next afternoon, he argued with Riku over what they should name their raft.

"We should name it Excalibur!" Sora suggested to Riku. Riku frowned.

"What about…"

"The usual. Let's settle it over a race!" Sora cut him off. The other boy smirked.

"Let's do it!"

Kairi ran over to their area on one of the piers. "You guys at it again? All right, I'll be the judge. The usual rules apply: Take any route you want…First rule to tag that tree and make it back wins," she explained. Sora looked over to his friend. "If I win, I'm captain! And if you win—,"

"I get to share the paopu with Kairi," Riku said without even blinking. "Huh?" Sora exclaimed. Riku looked at him. "Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi," he repeated.

"Wha… Wait a minute…"

"Okay," Kairi interrupted, "On my count…"

Sora was pouting a couple minutes later. "Now the scores 0 to 6!" He whined. It was an utter disaster of a race, with him tripping and hitting several obstacles while Riku dodged everyone flawlessly. _'I hate how good he is, sometimes. It makes me feel like I will always be number two._

"All right, we're naming the raft Highwind," Riku said proudly. Sora poked his lip out in response.

* * *

Sora sat in a cave later, rubbing over a drawing him and Kairi made when they were little kids. Picking up a sharp rock, he decided to add something new to the picture. It was him giving her a paopu fruit. He suddenly heard a noise and started looked around, wildly. "Hey, who's out there?" He demanded. A tall, figure wearing a brown hooded cloak, appeared before him.

"I've come to see the door to this world," the figure, emitted a deep masculine voice, simply said. "This world has been connected."

"Huh? Wh-What are you talking about," Sora questioned.

Ignoring him, the figure continued. "Tied to darkness…soon to be completely eclipsed."

 _What is he on about?_

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this!" Sora yelled at the figure.

"You do not know what lies beyond the door," the figure explained.

"So you're from another world!" the young boy added. He may have been freaked out a bit, but he was genuinely intrigued.

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."

Sora glared. He hated when people thought he was stupid, especially compared to Riku. Which was often. "Oh, yeah? Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!" He promised.

"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing," the figure rejected. Balling his fist, Sora glanced at the door. When he looked back, the figure was gone.

 _What the hell was that all about?_

* * *

May

"Hey Rini, is it me or has the air around here been weird lately?" May said they walked out of a corner store later that night.

"It's not just you," Rini said without looking at her. They went to the store to buy ice teas as both of them were thirsty for some.

"May, I don't think we should brush this off. I feel…I feel like something bad will happen soon. Very soon," Rini added. May frowned.

"I know you have been having bad nightmares, but I am too. Why?" May asked, more to herself than her twin. May also feels a strong sense of anxiousness inside.

"Last night was different though, this time I had a giant key in my hands. It was silver," her twin said and it took all of May to not mention that she too was wielding a giant key in her hands, except it was gold instead of silver. _As twins, we do sometimes have psychic connections but this is creepy and unnatural._

They walked past a dark alleyway, where a mysterious figure stood. For some reason, they stopped in their tracks even though it wise to keep it moving.

"This world, so large, yet so ignorant of what's outside of it," the figure said.

"Come on, let's walk away. That person is just another crackhead," May whispered to her twin. Rini nodded fearfully.

"One day, you'll see what lies beyond the door," the figure continued, "And when you do, you might not take what is shown in front of you."

 _Don't respond, don't respond. It's just another crackhead, that's all_ , May thought, gritting her teeth. _Why are we still standing here?_

"What door?" Rini uncharacteristically asked the figure. _Why Rini? What part of 'Don't talk to strangers' did you not understand?_

"Your world has hid itself for far too long," the figure said lastly. When May turned to grab her sister, the figure was gone.

"What did that man want?" Rini asked.

"I dunno, but let's leave before he comes back and kidnaps us or something."

 _I wonder what's the big deal? Something bad always happens in Philadelphia._

* * *

Sora

Him and Kairi sat on the pier, watching the sunset.

"You know, Riku has changed," she said, looking forward.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused. She shifted awkwardly.

"Well…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"You okay?" He asked again, worryingly. To his surprise, she dropped the somber mood quickly.

"Sora, let's take the raft and go! Just the two of us!" She offered. "Huh?" He said in response, trying not to blush. She giggled. "Just kidding!"

 _Uh…._

"What's gotten into you?" He said. What happened to the Riku and Kairi of last year? Where they didn't seem like they wanted create awkwardness everywhere they went? "You're the one that's changed, Kairi," he insisted. He knew girls grew up differently than boys, but he didn't know that it was this bad.

She looked down. "Maybe."

"You know," she started, "I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here," She looked at him, "Right?"

"Yeah of course!" He answered, enthusiastically. What could possibly separate him and his best friends?

Kairi smiled softly with a knowing glint in her eye. "Sora don't ever change," she simply said. She got up and looked forward again. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."

For awhile, they just watched the waves flow against the setting sun.

* * *

Donald  
 _  
'Donald, Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinking out one by one. And that means that disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it. There are three people with "keys", the keys to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find them, and stick with them. Got it? We'll need those keys or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

P.S. Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal.'

That was the letter King Mickey had wrote for them.

"Oh dear, what could this mean?" Daisy asked, worryingly? After the garden, they all went inside the library, and Donald handed Daisy and Minnie the letter to read.

"It means we'll just have to trust the king," the queen spoke up for her husband.

"Gawrsh, I sure hope he's alright," Goofy said, nervously.

"Your highness," Donald spoke up, "Don't worry. We'll find the king and these "keys"." Minnie smiled brightly. "Thank you, both of you." Donald looked towards Daisy.

"Daisy, can you take care of—,"

"Of course. You be careful, both of you." The female duck finished for him.

"Oh, and to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you," Minnie added, gesturing to a nearby desk. Donald and Goofy narrowed their eyes, trying to see what she was talking about.

"Over here," A tiny cricket with a top hat, a black dress coat, and a black cane exclaimed, jumping up and down on top of the desk.

"Cricket's the name. Jiminy Cricket at your service," the cricket introduced, bowing politely.

"We hope for your safe return. Please help the king," the queen said. The queen, Daisy, and Goofy looked at him expectantly, with Goofy even saluting him.

"You're coming too!" Donald said, dragging him off.

In the next couple of minutes, they were walking down the steps.

"Gawrsh Jiminy, your world disappeared, too?" Goofy asked the small cricket, who was resting on his helmet.

"It was terrible. We were scattered. And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to the castle," Jiminy said, mournful. Donald looked back at Goofy.

"Goofy…"

"Oh right. I gotcha. While we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from. We gotta protect the world border," Goofy explained.

"Order," Donald corrected sharply.

"Right. World order," the royal knight fixed, "I guess we'll need new duds when we get there."

The bottom of the steps held the entrance to a large garage, where Chip and Dale were working on the Gummi Ship from within a control panel.

Donald went over to a large yellow horn.

"Hello up there? Donald Duck to launch crew," he called into it," Anytime you're ready."

From within the control panel, Chip saluted while Dale pulled a lever. Several pipes released air, and two large white hands grabbed Donald, Goofy, and Pluto to put them into the Gummi ship. Donald waved goodbye to Daisy and Minnie, and they were off to Traverse Town.

* * *

 **Sora**

He lay in his bed, bored. At night he was still confused over his encounter with that figure.

 ** _What did he mean by my world being eclipsed by darkness?_**

He looked over to small toy ship with two dolls in it. Kairi's words reflected in his head. "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great." He smiled for a bit before the sound of thunder startled him. "A storm? Oh, no, the raft!" He crawled out his bedroom window in a panic.

"Sora, dinner's ready!" His mom called from downstairs. "Come on down...Sora?"

Running along the other island, he stopped to look at a big ball of darkness in the sky. "What's that?" He wondered aloud. He glanced at his friend's boats to see them completely askew. Worryingly, he turned around.

Only to meet the eyes of a black spider-like creature with beady yellow eyes, who was poised to attack him. Just like in his dream.

* * *

AN: Well welcome to Adventure, a novelization of Kingdom Hearts I with some changes, mainly with my original characters, May and Sarina Grey. Some things will be added to the lore of Kingdom Hearts to flesh out some aspects of the universe.


	2. Traverse Town

Sora stepped back in horror as the creature looked at him. Another one popped right up behind him. _What the hell are these things? They only existed in my dreams!_

He ran fearfully to a pier where Riku stood. He stopped when he didn't see Kairi.

"Where's Kairi? I thought that she was with you?" He asked him. His friend didn't look at him.

"The door has opened…"

"What?"

"The door has opened, Sora! Now we can go to the outside world!"

Sora looked at him, incredulous. "What are you talking about? We've gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us," Riku reassured him, "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!" He reached his arm out towards Sora.

"Riku...," he trailed off, worried at Riku's lack of sanity at this point. A pool of darkness cropped up from behind his friend. Black tendrils rose up and enveloped him. Sora frantically tried to grab his friend but to no avail. Riku was gone. A bright light blinded him for a moment. When he opened his eyes, to his shock, he was holding a rather long skeleton key. The blade and teeth were silver, the rain guard was blue, and the guard was bright gold. The teeth resembled the outline of a crown. _Why am I holding this? What is going on?_

It disappeared all of a sudden, and Sora ran to the secret cave, where Kairi stood in front of the door. She looked at him with a dull expression on his face.

"Sora…" She whispered, looking ready to faint. She tried to reach out towards him but the door behind her snapped open. Dark winds went forth, and the force of the winds was so powerful that it sent Kairi flying towards Sora. He tried to catch her but she mysteriously went right through him and disappeared. Sora himself ended up flying back far out of the cave and onto a floating isle. The dark ball was even bigger and it was dragging pieces of the island into it.

Sora looked at the ball in horror. Then, a massive, muscular creature with short legs, very thin and upward curly feet, long arms, and small wings on its back towered over him. Its entire body was black; its eyes were small and yellow, and large hole in the shape of a heart penetrated its abdominal area. The horrifying part was the fact that it was same big black thing from his dream.

 _This situation keeps getting worse and worse! WHAT IS THAT THING? This has to be a dream, it can't be real!_

The key from earlier reappeared in his hand, and Sora had a strong urge to fight. Despite the urge to scream and run, Sora gathered whatever courage he had and he took a fighting stance.

* * *

May

"Rini...Rini? Where are you going?" May called after Sarina, who was strangely running outside.

May was wearing a white vest with pockets over a navy blue top. Her shorts were navy blue as well, held up by a golden belt. She also wore blue and white sneakers with short white socks. On her head was a white baseball cap with a blue tip and a diamond studded 'M' in the center. She wore a dark blue star-shaped necklace.

"Something's happening! I can feel it!" Sarina shouted as she ran down the street. Sarina was dressed in a cerise top with light pink ruffles, a long skirt the color of pink and brown sandals tied with a pink bow on the top of each. Her hair was put into a high ponytail, tied by a large pink bow. She wore a pink, star-shaped necklace.

"Why? What's about to go wrong? Talk to me!" May shouted.

Sarina didn't answer and kept running down the street, only to stop dead in her tracks as she turned the corner. May caught up to her. "What is wrong with…."

They froze together at the sight of people getting their hearts ripped out by strange looking monsters. Cars were abandoned all over the place, and houses were being torn apart. East Falls was turning into a danger zone.

"What the fu…," May started in horror. She clutched her twin tightly to her side. Sarina was still as a statue. "We need to get home. FAST."

May tried her hardest to get her and Sarina to safety but it was difficult to do so among a panicking crowd. One of the creatures jumped on Sarina's back, pushing her down.

"Hey! Get off my sister!" She yelled, angrily. She flung herself onto the spider-like creature, banging on it with her fist. Sarina flailed from underneath the both of them.

Other creatures began to crowd around them, waiting to see if the spider needed help. The spider clawed at Sarina's back, trying to flip her over despite her twin's interference.

Suddenly ice crystals formed around Sarina, and they enveloped the creature, freezing it. She rose, making the other twin flop on the ground. May watched in astonishment as a silver glow appeared in Sarina's hands. A large key popped up in her twin's arm. The blade was silver in color with the teeth resembling crescent moons and the guard being in the shape of a full moon. Crystals were implanted up and down the pastel pink handle. Sarina looked at the key in shock before she nervously slashed at the frozen creature, shattering it into disappearance.

"How did you do that?" May asked her, incredulous.

"I don't know…," Sarina answered. The twins looked at the other monsters, which were now ready to attack them.

"We have to fight these things, don't we?" Sarina asked.

"You do. You're the one with the weapon," May corrected. Suddenly, a golden light surrounded her hands, and her own large key appeared. It was gold in color, with the teeth resembling sun rays, the sun itself attached at the top. The guard also resembled the sun while having an cerulean handle.

"Okay, this is getting freaky," May said, "I'm not sure if this is real or a really bad dream." She yelped in pain as one of the flying creatures hit her with a fireball, burning her slightly.

"Alrighty then," she hissed, "This is real." Angry, she swiped at the thing, and then froze as is disappeared.

She took a fighting stance, with her back facing Sarina.

"Let's do this!" She encouraged.

* * *

Miranda

Miranda angrily walked down the street.

An ex-boyfriend of hers was following her down the street. "Randy, if you just give me another chance-"

"You're the biggest idiot in the Bronx! I would never give you another chance! We're done!" She barked, waving her fist threateningly. _I need to grow a better taste in boys_ , she thought to herself bitterly. _Especially ones who don't call me that stupid nickname._ She was sixteen, with mixed black and puerto-rican descent, and had long curly black hair, dark grey eyes, and olive skin.

"Please Randy…"

"Shut up!"

Suddenly, her ex-boyfriend screamed, and Miranda quickly turned around only to shriek at the sight of a black creature tearing a hole into him. She sprinted down the street as other civilians were screaming and running as well. Cars crashed into each other, and people were pushing each other to get away from the massive amount of black creatures that were flooding the area. Massive fires erupted from houses and the streets and the smell of smoke filled her nostrils.

 _Is this..is the apocalypse happening right now?_

A large spider-like one was trailing on her. _Crap!_

Miranda frantically looked for an alleyway, glancing at a dark portal that appeared out of nowhere. _What is going on?_ She thought. Would she rather get mauled by that thing or run into a portal that could lead to anywhere? The spider advanced towards her at alarming rate. Choosing her fate, she threw herself into the portal and promptly disappeared, leaving the creature confused.

* * *

Sora

Sora stood, shaking heavily after a fierce battle with the giant creature. _Is that thing dead yet?_

The massive creature was swept up into the large black portal, unwilling. The portal was so strong; it was even sweeping Sora up. He tried to latch onto a nearby tree for safety. Unfortunately, the branch snapped, sending Sora flying upward into the portal screaming. _No!_

* * *

Donald and Goofy

King Mickey's loyal assistants surveyed their surroundings. Traverse Town was a small and quiet town that also resembled a Victorian era town. It was eternally stuck in nighttime, with stars appearing brightly. Donald and Goofy was wearing clothes much more similar to the outfits they wore when they were young.

For Goofy, it was a green sweater, a black jacket, a tall brown hat, and goggles on his head. For Donald, it was a dark blue jacket over a blue shirt.

Goofy poked Donald fearfully.

"What?" The duck snapped, not in the mood to deal with Goofy's antics.

"Look, two stars are goin' out!" Goofy pointed up to the sky as Donald looked up in horror. Two stars disappeared, leaving nothing behind. Two more worlds were destroyed. The court wizard looked at his friend, determined.

"Come on. Let's hurry," he ordered. Goofy nodded and walked off with Donald, with Pluto trailing behind them.

"Where's those keys?" Donald said impatiently with his arms folded.

"Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find Leon," The dog suggested while Pluto sniffed around. The duck trailed off in the other direction. Goofy pointed towards a large gate.

"Uh, Donald. Ya know, I betcha that-,"

"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?" Donald cut him off.

"What do I know?" Goofy agreed. He looked for Pluto. "Hmm…Come on, Pluto."

Pluto was already sniffing down another alleyway. Next to a couple of large crates, he found a spiky haired teen knocked out against the wall.

* * *

May

 _'What the hell kind of dream was that_ ,' May thought as she opened her eyes up, expecting to be back in her bed, safe and sound.

Instead, she found herself in a town that looked like it was ripped straight out of Victorian England. ' _Oh d_ _ammit…_ '

She then noticed that Sarina wasn't next to her. Fear bubbled in her mind, sending her into a deep panic.

"Rini!" She called for her twin, only to hear no response.

Her situation took another turn for the worst when the creatures that appeared earlier popped up again all over the district. The same key from earlier appeared in her hands again, glowing. In addition, a soft breeze encircled her.

 _No way! I'm NOT fighting all these monsters!_

Taking a deep breath, she ran quickly across the district, swiping away some of the monsters as she went by. She stopped in front of a huge house, and pulled the door open. Running inside, she shut the door and locked it, leaving the remaining monsters to claw at it.

"Phew..," she sighed, relieved. She slid down on the ground, and looked up to see Pongo and Perdita sitting in front of her, tongues wagging. May gave them a blank look, then she rubbed her eyes, and then she pinched herself.

"H-How t-the…am I hallucinating, or is that the dogs from 101 Dalmatians staring back at me?" She asked herself aloud. Pongo sniffed around her while Perdita went back to lying on the rug. _What the…I don't even know anymore._

* * *

Sora

 _Is someone licking me?_

He woke up to find a large dog wagging its tongue and tail at him, excitedly.

"What a dream…," he said drowsily, attempting to go back to sleep. The dog jumped on him, startling him.

"Whoa…This is isn't a dream!" He realized in shock. He immediately got up and looked at his surroundings with the dog looking up at him. "Where am I? Oh boy…"

He bent down to meet the eyes of the dog. It seemed rather friendly. "Do you know where we are?"

The dog nodded quickly, and it sped off. "Hey!" Sora called, running after it. He was in a small town of sorts, particularly in a district. He saw a boy resembling Tidus standing against a street lamp, while a small white creature with stubby hands, tiny ears, tiny purple wings, and a red bulbous nose stood next to him. It was sporting a red pom pom on its heard, attached by an antenna, and its eyes were made in thin, narrow slits.

"This is totally weird. I'm in another world!"

He finally achieved his dream of seeing another world, although the manner in which it was achieved was not…ideal.

 _I gotta see if any of my other friends are here!_

Sora ran inside the nearest shop. Inside behind the desk, was a tall man with short blond hair, a white t-shirt, blue pants, and goggles on his forehead. Hearing the door open, the man turned around.

"Hey there, how can I-Aw it's just a kid," he said in disappointment. He had a thick country accent.

"I'm not a kid! And the names' Sora!" Sora shouted, putting his hands on his hips.

The man put his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, simmer down. So why the long face, Sora? You lost or somethin'?"

"No!" Sora argued, not convincingly. "Well, maybe. Where are we?"

"Huh? Traverse Town, The Inn Between Worlds," the man replied.

"Traverse Town…," Sora repeated it for memory. "So, gramps, is this really another world? I'm from Destiny Islands."

The man glared at him. "Don't call me gramps! The name's Cid! Anyway, not sure what you're talkin' about but this sure ain't your island."

Sora frowned. So here he was, on a totally unfamiliar world with neither of his best friends beside him. "Hmm...I guess I better start looking for Riku and Kairi."

With that, he left. "Something special about that kid," Cid muttered to himself.

Sora walked over to a large gate, and it opened for him, leading to another district.

"Hey sweetie," a woman in a seductive black minidress said to him as she sauntered up to him. "Would you like to-"

He watched in horror as the woman fell in front of him, lifeless. The woman's heart released from his chest. The heart then transformed into a creature resembling a royal knight, with beady yellow eyes and red claws. It then disappeared into a dark portal. More creatures appeared, and his key appeared in his hand again.

He quickly destroyed all of them, and retreated back into the first district.

He walked along the alleyway, when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"They'll come at you out of nowhere."

Sora clutched his key tightly. "Who are you?"

"And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the keyblade," the voice added, belonging to a tall young man with long brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a black jacket over a white undershirt, black gloves, and zipper lined shoes. Sora took a defensive stance.

"But why? Why would it choose a kid like you?" The man continued.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked, offended. The man looked down for a second. "Never mind," he said, "Now, let's see that keyblade." He walked towards Sora.

"What! There's no way you're getting this!" Sora rejected. The man stopped. He summoned a large gun blade.

"Alright, then have it your way," he said softly. He then took a stance, signaling Sora to fight him.

Sora charged towards him, swinging. The man easily dodged Sora's blows and struck him with the blade, pushing the boy back. Sora charged again, only to be burned by a fireball shot by his opponent. Sora winced as the man swung another blow at him. Sora fainted in pain, landing in front of the man.

"Aww…you didn't have to go so hard on him, Squall," A young girl with short black hair and violet eyes said, walking in front of them. She wore a metal headband, a yellow scarf, a green tube top with two blue belts holding it up, tan short shorts held up by another belt around her waist, white socks that reached about mid-thigh, orange shoes, and mesh sleeves.

"I went easy on him," Leon said flatly, "Looks like things are worse. A lot worse."

* * *

Riku

He stirred awake, lifting himself off the ground. "Where…am I?" He looked around him. He was on a platform surrounded by other floating platforms and rising waterfall that flowed upwards for some reason. "Sora!" He called out for his friend. "Kairi!"

A tall fairy with green skin and wearing a long black robe watched him from a distance. She smiled deviously.

* * *

Donald and Goofy

"Gawrsh, there's nobody here. Sure is spooky," Goofy noticed as him and Donald walked along an alleyway in the second district.

"Aw phooey. I'm not scared," Donald huffed. "WAH!" He screamed as something tapped him. He latched onto Goofy's back in fear.

"Excuse me, did the king send you?" A young woman said.

Shivering, they faced her. She had green eyes and brown hair tied into a long braid, a pink dress with magenta lining and buttons going down the front, and brown boots. She had a kind smile.

* * *

Sora

"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up," a voice called.

Sora stirred awake, rubbing his head. "You're okay?" The voice, belonging to Kairi, said. "I guess…," he answered.

"Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want, because you wield the Keyblade," she explained. He smiled.

"I'm so glad you're okay Kairi."

"Kairi, who are you talking about? I'm the great ninja Yuffie," she corrected. _What?_ "Huh?"

He blinked and instead of Kairi, a young woman with short black hair and violet eyes observed his face.

"I think you've might have overdone it, Squall," she said to the same man that attacked Sora from earlier.

"That's Leon," he corrected. Sora looked over to his keyblade, which leaned against a nightstand.

"Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures," Yuffie explained, "it turns out that's how they were tracking you. And it turns out that there are two more keyblade wielders, that why's there still some out there; we have to find them."

"It was the only way conceal your heart from them," Leon added. "But it won't work for long."

"There's two other people like me?" Sora asked. Leon and Yuffie nodded.

"Still hard to believe that you of all people are one of the chosen ones," the older male said, picking the keyblade up. It quickly disappeared and reappeared in Sora's hand. "Well I suppose beggars can't be choosers." Sora began to get agitated at the perceived insult.

"Why don't you start making sense? What's going on here?" he demanded.

Donald and Goofy

"Okay so you know that there are many other worlds out there," Aerith started, "besides your castle and this town, right?"

"Yeah," Donald added. "But they're supposed to be a secret," Goofy replied.

"They've been secret because they never have been connected," the young woman explained, "Until now. When the Heartless came, everything changed."

* * *

Sora

"The Heartless?" Sora asked.

"The ones that attacked you, remember? Yuffie said while sitting next to him.

"Those without hearts," Leon explained, "The darkness in people's hearts; that's what attracts them, and there is darkness within every heart." Yuffie turned towards Sora.

"Hey, have you ever heard of someone named Ansem?" She asked him.

Donald and Goofy

"Ansem?" Goofy repeated.

"He was studying the Heartless," Aerith said, "He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report. He was the ruler of my homeworld."

"Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?" Goofy asked, stretching his arm out. She shook her head. "Its pages are scattered everywhere."

"Scattered?" Donald replied, incredulous.

"To many worlds," she finished.

"Oh, then maybe the king went to find em'," Goofy suggested.

"Yes, those were my thoughts exactly," Aerith agreed. "We gotta find him quick!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Wait!" Donald cut in. "First, we need those 'keys'!" He reminded him.

"That's right. The keyblades."

* * *

Sora

"So…this is the key?" Sora said, lifting it up.

"Exactly," Yuffie nodded. "The heartless have great fear of the Keyblade."

"That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what," Leon added. Sora frowned.

"Well I didn't ask for this," Sora said.

"The Keyblade chooses its master," Yuffie cut in, "And it chose you."

"So tough luck," Leon said.

"How did all this happen?" Sora asked them. "I remember being in my room…" He jumped off the bed he was sitting on. "Wait a minute! What happened to my home? My island? Riku! Kairi!" He looked at Leon, worryingly.

"You know what? I really don't know," the older male said, leaning against the wall.

"Leon!" Yuffie yelled, catching both their intention. She pointed to the same knight-like heartless from earlier. Leon summoned his gunblade.

"Yuffie, go!" He ordered. She ran out the door….

* * *

Third POV

Donald yelped in pain as a young girl ran past him and Aerith. "Yuffie!" She called, running after her. They didn't notice that Yuffie accidentally slammed the door open on Donald.

Sora and Leon stood back-to-back for battle. "Sora, let's go!" Leon commanded. He swung at the heartless, sending it flying out the window. Leon jumped out the window, after it. Sora followed him.

Goofy watched awkwardly as the door swung back, revealing a flattened Donald. He then ran out to the patio and saw a boy with a keyblade running down an alleyway. A heartless popped in front of him. Goofy summoned a large, circular shield with the outline of King Mickey's face and ears. "Gawrsh, are these the Heartless guys?"

Donald summoned his staff. "Let's go get em Goofy!" They charged towards the heartless.

* * *

Sarina

"So…in your world, we're just cartoons? We're not real?" Huey asked her while his brothers looked at her with widened eyes. Sarina nodded nervously while holding a teacup. Inside, she was panicking severely to the point of nausea. _I'm not meant to be by myself. May's supposed to be by me, protecting me, speaking for me. I don't like talking to people…_ May was a calming presence, Sarina felt nothing but warmth when around her. _And now I feel scared_.

"Wicked…," Huey, Dewey, and Louie all said at once to her surprise. When she woke up in this strange town, the Item Shop was the first place she went into. Though when she entered, she did a double take at the sight of Donald Duck's nephews working the shop. She had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. They helped her to a nearby chair and told her all about Disney Town, Disney Castle, and all its residents. She was shocked to learn that Mickey Mouse was a king and Minnie Mouse was the ruling queen.

"Is, uh, Max here?" She asked, referring to Goofy's son, "And Clarabelle Cow?"

"Nope," Huey answered, "Sir Max lives at the castle as a knight in training and Lady Clarabelle is probably at the castle too, spreading gossip. With the Queen's magic, our world should be safe."

"Ah," Sarina said. The little ducklings were much cuter in person although it was disturbing how much they took after their great-uncle Scrooge McDuck when it came to pricing their products.

Loud noises erupted from outside, startling her into dropping her teacup, shattering it.

"It sounds like it's coming from the Third District!" Dewey exclaimed. Drawing out her keyblade, Sarina ran towards the door. Before she left, she glanced at them.

"Stay safe, okay?" She gathered the will to tell them. They may have been big, talking ducklings, but they were still little kids. They waved her goodbye as she ran out the door.

"She's pretty," Huey gushed.

* * *

May

"Your puppies are gone," May asked Pongo and Perdita. "All ninety-nine of them?" They nodded. "Were they eaten by those monsters out there?" They shook their heads.

"Were you guys…separated?" They nodded.

"Oh, um, that's pretty…sad," May told them awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. 99 lost puppies would be a nightmare to search for.

Loud noises erupted from outside. May shot them an awkward smile.

"Something tells me that I should investigate. I hope you guys find your pups!"

She walked out the house and looked over to a hotel where she saw Donald Duck and Goofy fight one of those creatures.

 _Wait a minute…WHAT?_

She stood there for a moment, trying to register what was currently happening in her line of vision. _Wh-what are they doing here? First Pongo and Perdita, now Donald and Goofy. Who's next? Mickey Mouse?_

She snapped out of her thoughts only to watch in horror as their opponent clawed at them with such force, it sent them flying into another district.

"Holy…," she trailed off, running in their direction.

* * *

Third POV

Donald and Goofy screamed in fear as they flew. Sora looked up from where he was fighting and attempted to run away, only to end being a cushion for their landing. The royal knights saw stars for a minute, and then gasped as they finally saw the keyblade.

"A key!" They shouted at the same time. Sora groaned in agony.

May and Sarina entered the district at the same time. "May!" "Sarina!" They shouted in joy as they ran towards each other, ignoring Sora, Donald, and Goofy on the ground. They hugged tightly. Donald and Goofy couldn't believe their luck; all three keyblade wielders happened to pop up at the same time.

Several pillars suddenly appeared and blocked off all exits. Several Soldier heartless appeared, dancing menacingly.

Everyone quickly assembled into a circle, bearing their weapons. Donald and Sarina fired blizzard spells, freezing several of them, while Goofy spun around, destroying them with his shield.

May dodged an oncoming kick from one of the soldiers, and swept it back with her keyblade. When it tried to counter, she slashed it across its torso, destroying it. Another one snuck up behind her, only to be killed by Sora. She whipped around to face him.

"Thanks," she told him, smiling.

"No problem!" He replied, smiling back. _'Woah, he's kinda cute, though his face is kind of…babyish_ ,' May thought to herself as she rushed forward to slash at another heartless, _'Though for some reason I feel like I've seen him before.'_

Sora had similar thoughts. _'Why does she seem so familiar?"_

At a group of Soldiers, Donald casted a thunder spell, electrocuting them to death. Sarina watched nearby in awe. _'Wow, I want to do that. Let me do that.'_ She concentrated deeply, and her keyblade grew hot, emitting a small fireball, burning one of them up instead. 'Or burning them counts, I guess,' she thought, slightly disappointed. She continued to cast fire spells on each of them, making them disintegrate.

When all the soldiers were gone, the group looked at each other.

"Well that went well," May said, happily. A tremor went through the district, causing everyone to fall back. May fell onto Sora by accident, making him blush.

Pieces of blue, red, gold, and silver armored body parts fell from the sky and landed on the ground with a large smash, causing a minor shock wave. The pieces grouped together to form a body, with the armored head appearing last at the top. Strangely, not a single limb was connected.

The quintet looked at the large heartless in fear.

"Dammit, I just had to say that…," May said in horror. The heartless looked at them menacingly.

May unattached herself from Sora and immediately ran up to the heartless and started slashing its torso.

Sora ran up to her side and attacked the torso as well. Unfortunately for them, the armored heartless decided to spin its arms rapidly, smacking them. They recoiled to the ground in pain. Rushing to their defense, Goofy smacked its legs with his shield while Sora and May crawled away.

"Yikes…," May hissed, rubbing her stinging cheek.

"Ow…," Sora whined, rubbing his throbbing head.

Sarina and Donald casted fire spells at the arms while simultaneously dodging their blows. Donald was shocked at how elegantly the girl battled. She swirled her keyblade around like it was a baton, and danced around the battlefield.

"I can't believe how good you are at this!" He exclaimed.

 _'I can't believe I'm fighting with Donald Duck and Goofy,'_ Sarina thought to herself. She smiled shyly at Donald. "Thank you."

Donald looked over to Goofy, who was already knocked out. Sighing, he casted Cure, which instantly healed the royal knight. Goofy springed up, ready for more action. Sarina looked at Donald. "How did you do that?" She asked him.

"Just say 'Cure,'" he told her.

"Okay! Cure!" She called. Her keyblade vibrated and unleashed a thunder spell instead, accidently shocking May and Sora, who were now back to slashing the heartless' torso. The two teens yelped in pain and slumped to the ground.

"Oi…," Donald sighed. The girl needed a lot of practice. Sarina screamed a hurl of sorries at the two of them until the court wizard unleashed another Cure spell, healing May and Sora.

The heartless suddenly leaped into the air. The group frantically scattered as it came back down, splattering its limbs all over the district. The limbs floated around, trying to attack them. Goofy and Donald spent their energy on the hammer legs, while May and Sarina focused on the gauntlets. Sora trailed after the torso, which was bouncing up and down, causing tiny shockwaves.

"Get back here!" He called. Reaching the torso, he slashed it one more time. The other limbs suddenly fell to the ground, and its head fell off its torso. A large hearts floated upwards, and then disappeared. All of its body evaporated into thin air, leaving no evidence of its existence.

Everyone walked up to each other. Donald and Goofy felt a strong sense of warmth around May. The girl seemed to bask it in, with a sunny smile on her face. Something about the girl was good, pure.

"So that's it?" May asked.

"Seems to be," Sora replied. He hoped another one would not pop up, but that shouldn't be possible. May turned her gaze on to Donald and Goofy.

"How did you guys get here if I may ask? You guys aren't supposed to be real! You're just cartoons, and some miserable people in costumes at the Disney parks!" May said. Goofy looked at them, confused.

"Cartoons? Why, we're just as real as can be, aren't we, Donald? Or maybe we are cartoons? Are we cartoons?" Goofy asked worryingly.

"We're not cartoons you dolt!" Donald scolded. He glanced at the twins. "I don't what world you came from, but we're not cartoons. We are King Mickey's royal knights that were sent to find him, as he went missing. In his letter, he told us to find three people with keys," he explained.

"So you were looking for us, then?" Sora said, pointing to himself and then May and Sarina. The two knights nodded.

"They too seek the wielders of the keyblades," Leon said, suddenly standing there along with Yuffie.

"Hey why don't you come with us? We could travel to other worlds on our vessel," Goofy suggested to the teens. Sora looked down on the ground.

"I wonder if I could find Riku and Kairi…," He said.

"If we embark on this quest with you guys, then maybe we could find out the cause of our world ending," May rationalized while her twin nodded quietly.

"Of course," Donald lied to them. Sora smiled hopefully.

Goofy bent down to Donald's eye level.

"Are you sure?" He whispered to him, suspiciously.

"Who knows?" The court wizard said truthfully, "But we need them to come with us to find the king," he added, pointing at them. The twins tilted their heads in a confused manner.

"Go with them," Leon told the kids, "Especially if you want to find your friends," he directed at Sora, "And save your world," he directed at the twins.

"I guess so…," Sora accepted, frowning.

"We'll go with you guys," May accepted as well, speaking up for her and her twin. She had a sad look on her face as well. _'Does the planet Earth even exist anymore?'_

"But you can't come along looking like that. Understand," Donald ordered at Sora, May, and Sarina, who had her head down shyly, "No frowning. No sad face. No heads ?" He explained.

"Yeah, ya gotta look funny, like us!" Goofy added, much to Donald's annoyance. Donald promptly shoved his face away in response. "This boat runs on happy faces!" He continued on.

"Happy?" Sora asked. Everyone looked at him in expectation. He looked down at the floor for a second then he whipped back up; pulling a big derpy grin and making his eyes goes crazy. May puffed her cheeks out while sticking her tongue out. Sarina simply lifted her eyes up while sticking her gums out in a weird smile. After they were done, they looked at Donald and Goofy in nervousness. The two royal knights started to laugh, holding their stomachs.

"Those are some funny faces," Goofy complimented.

"Okay, why not? I'll go with you guys," Sora said. Donald brightened, holding out his hand.

"Donald Duck," he introduced.

"Name's Goofy," Goofy added.

"My name's Maylene but I prefer May," May introduced herself. She then pointed at her sister, "And this is Sarina, but I have always called her Rini." Sarina waved timidly in response.

"I'm Sora," Sora said while rubbing his head. He shook hands with May while burying an instant attraction to her that he didn't feel was quite his own. _'She's pretty yes, just as much as Kairi, but that's not what's important right now.'_ Still, he takes in her deep, dark skin that seems to glow, and her long plaits that looked so soft...

May also tries not to make it obvious that she thinks Sora is attractive. But it's hard not to when he has such a goofy but endearing smile, tan skin that seems kissed by the sun itself, and eyes colored like a bright blue sky…

' _Damn it,'_ both teenagers thought at the same time. They sharply looked away from each other, folding their arms and blushing lightly.

' _Oh dear,'_ Sarina thought as she observed the awkward situation. May was not as boy-crazy as Angie but when she found a boy she liked...

"Hey, everyone put their hands on each other," Donald ordered while trying not to roll his eyes at teenagers acting like typical hormonal teenagers. Everyone else did what he said.

"All for one and one for all," Goofy chanted. They then all threw their hands up in the air happily.

 _'Rini and I are going on a journey to save the universe with another teen, Donald Duck, and Goofy. What a crew,'_ May thought in amusement. This was going to be wild ride for sure.

* * *

In a dark room….

A group of villainous people watched Sora, May, Sarina, Donald, and Goofy on a small hologram, dimmed in green while lying on a small large dark table.

"Those little squirts took down that heartless! Who'd would have thought it?" A male voice spoke. His head and body flamed heavily in anger.

"Such is the power of the keyblade," another man elegantly spoke, "The children's strength is not their own."

"Why don't we turn them into heartless? That'll settle things quick enough," an obese cecelia said. She then cackled loudly.

"And the brats' friends are the king's lackeys," another man with a hook snarled. "Swoggle me eyes, they're all bilge rats by the look of them."

"You're no prize yourself," a burlap sack with a male voice insulted, snickering.

"Shut up!" The other man fired back.

"Enough!" A woman ordered, walking in. She was a tall green fairy with yellow eyes and red slender lips. She wore a long dark robe and two large black horns appeared on the top of her head.

"The Keyblade has chosen them," she said, "Will it be them who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow them? Either way, they could be quite useful…," she said, smiling wickedly.

Everybody in the room laughed wickedly.

* * *

"Make sure you're prepared for the journey ahead of you," Leon said, "We don't know how far the heartless have spread." They were all back in the first district.

"Check out some shops here. They've got some pretty neat stuff!" Yuffie added in.

"This is from of all of us," Aerith piped in. She walked over to them and handed Sarina 500 munny in a small change purse. Sarina softly thanked her in return.

"Spend it as you see fit." May and Sora looked at the purse in amazement. _'All that money for us?'_ May thought. Her parents had money but they didn't allow any of their children to carry $500 in their pockets.

"Good luck!" Yuffie encouraged.

"I hope you find your friends!" Aerith added.

"Look out for each other," Leon advised, "Keep your spirits up."

"We'll try," May replied. The three of them walked back, presumably to their rooms in the second district.

Donald and Goofy faced the trio.

"The gummi ship is outside that gate," Donald explained, pointing at a large brown gate to their left.

"The what?" Sora and May said at the same time.

"That's our ship," Donald said.

"Does it have gummi candy in it?" May asked them. The duck shook his head, making her pout.

"Wait til' you see it!" Goofy said, excitedly.

"Hold on," Donald told him, "Sora and May, this is for you." The court wizard took out his staff and shot a bright light at May and Sora, enveloping them. When the light disappeared, they appeared exactly the same.

"What was that for?" May asked.

"You both now can wield magic, although you can only use fire for now. One spell at a time," Donald explained. "Surprisingly, you already know several spells. You just need work," he directed at Sarina.

"Teach them that other thing," Donald said to Goofy.

"What?" The knight inquired. Donald stomped his foot impatiently. "You know!"

"Oh yeah," the dog suddenly remembered. He got on all fours, tucked his head in and promptly rolled.

"We call that the Dodge Roll," the knight stated cheerfully form the ground, "It makes you invulnerable to enemies for a brief time while rolling."

"Oh that's easy!" May said. She immediately jumped down and rolled within seconds, earning looks of amazement from the king's loyal assistant.

"Cool," Sora complimented. He then got into position and rolled onto the ground as well. His was slightly more uneven than May's.

Like her twin, Sarina rolled effortlessly, making May's eyebrow raise.

"How did you do that? You're not a very athletic girl."

"I don't know," Sarina said, looking down at the ground. It just came to her immediately. The two royal knights decided to talk to them about abilities and items they could shop for.

Jiminy Cricket watched them from a distance.

"Well I see big adventures coming their way! Looks like it's up to me to keep track of it in my journal!" He said to himself, smiling brightly.

* * *

The Gummi Ship was spacious and colorful. To the twins, the interior pretty much looked like Lego's to them, with the seats looking especially block-like.

May and Sora sat next to each other. May poked him.

"So how old are you?"

"Fourteen," the brunet replied.

"Same," May replied. _'Good, so he's not actually a ten year old. Not that it matters…_ "How'd you end up in Traverse Town?"

Sora's face grew pained. "I was in my room when I heard the sounds of thunder, and...and you see, my two friends and I built a raft because we were actually planning to sail to another world on our own, and when I heard the sounds of a storm, I immediately thought of our raft and supplies and ran to the other island," His eyes fell to the floor in sadness, "But then I saw...those _things_ , and the keyblade appeared in my hand, and I was suddenly fighting them. But then this _huge_ heartless showed up and attacked me, and a black portal opened up and swallowed us both. Ugh! This is so screwed!" He exclaimed as he threw his face in his hands. "We wanted to see other worlds but was it worth it? I have no idea on where to even start searching for Riku and-and Kairi, the last I saw of her, she just went right through me like air and disappeared! I can't even imagine what my parents are thinking, if they are still alive!"

May rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "I can't say it will be alright, because I don't know if I can even answer that, but you're not alone in this. As long as we stick together and solve this mess, everything will go back to normal."

"I sure hope so," Sora mumbled to himself.

Sarina sat in a chair in front of them while Donald planted himself firmly in the pilot seat, and Goofy sat at the control panel.

"There might be some things that will attack us out there," Donald explained, "But don't worry, we got this," he pointed at himself and then Goofy. The trio nodded. The court wizard pulled the lever, setting the ship off, much like an airplane. Traverse Town became smaller until it was nothing more than a tiny dot.

"So Babyface, where're you from? I get the feeling that we don't live on the same planet," May asked.

Sora frowned. "Why are you calling me that?"

"Cause' you have the face of a baby," she smirked.

"I...do...not," he denied through gritted teeth. He did not like to be reminded of the fact that he looked younger than he was, or that he was the youngest out of him and his two best friends. She looked at him, genuinely surprised.

"Call me Sora, my actual name," He requested. She pondered it for a moment and then grinned mischievously.

"Nah Babyface suits you better," she rejected. He groaned in annoyance.

"Well, I'm from Destiny Islands. It's small but nice. The weather is always warm and sunny," he explained.

"So it's like the Caribbean?" May said excitedly.

He shrugged. "If you say so."

"So, what are your friends like?" She prodded.

"My friend Riku is very tall and muscular. We've been friends since we were babies," He replied, "And Kairi…um…she's my other best friend. She's very kind and pr-fun to be around," he slightly blushed.

"You're into her or something?" May asked while smiling teasingly. She oddly did not like the idea of that, though.

Sora turned beet red.

"It's not like that! It's not!" He tried to convince her. May gave him a look of disbelief.

"Sure."

They both clutched onto their seats tightly as the ship shook violently for a second.

"Don't worry! It's just some small malevolent ships!" Goofy said from the control panel.

"Well, what's your world like?" Sora asked, nervously.  
 _'I hope we don't crash.'_

"Big, very big," May started, "We call it Earth. It's made up of mostly water but there are seven continents that we can live on, and they're all made up of several countries. I'm from a city called Philadelphia in a country called The United States. It's located on the continent of North America," she explained.

"America?" He repeated. She nodded. "We call it the United States just as often because it's made up of fifty states. I live in the state of Pennsylvania," she added. He scratched his head. "That's cool. What about your family?"

"As you know, that girl in front of us is my fraternal twin," Sarina fell asleep as they talked, "And we have a younger, boy-crazy sister named Angela. And we have a little brother, Gabriel, but we call him Gabe. A little stuck up brat, that one," she shrugged, "But I love him anyway, as he can be a sweet kid when he wants to be."

After a half an hour of the ship constantly shaking due to engaging into battles with hostile ships (which Donald and Goofy were disturbingly calm about), a world popped up into their line of vision. It was a small world that was red and pink and color, with red and pink hearts. A large white castle was on top, accompanied by a heart-shaped hedge. Sarina was awake at this point and looked at the world in wonder.

"Is that…," she started.

"Wonderland?" May finished in awe.

"Well, here's one world," Goofy said, "Let's see if the king's here."

A few minutes later, they were falling down a rabbit hole.

* * *

A/N

Final Fantasy and its characters do not exist in the twins' universe so that's why neither of them recognize Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, or Sid.


	3. Wonderland

I don't own Kingdom Hearts; that product belongs to both Disney and Square Enix.

* * *

Sora, May, Sarina, and Donald fell down the rabbit hole gently while Goofy fell, lying back with his hand behind his back.

They all landed on the ground on two feet except for Goofy, who crashed down on the floor with a loud thud. May walked over to him, concerned. "Are you okay, buddy?"

Before he could answer, a white rabbit with a red jacket, a yellow blouse, and a large yellow clock in his hand ran by them.

"Oh my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" The rabbit panicked. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm here, I should be there. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! The queen, she'll have my head for sure!" He ran into the hall.

"We're in Wonderland aren't we?" May asked as she walked back to her twin.

"It seems to be," Sarina replied.

"Aw man, I hope we don't lose our heads."

"How would we do that?" Sora said, worried. May glanced at him. "'Cause the ruler of this world is a bloodthirsty tyrant for a queen," she simply stated. She signaled everyone to follow her into the hall, where several heartless waited for them. The group quickly dispatched them all due to combined teamwork.

"You know I always thought that a zombie or robot apocalypse would be the end of the world but I guess these things will do," May said.  
She tried to look at it optimistically as a way to cope.

* * *

They followed the White Rabbit into the Bizarre Room, looking just as it did in the film. The rabbit ran into the door with the sleeping doorknob.

"How he get so small?" Sora asked while bending down to the door, noticing that the white rabbit suddenly shrunken ten times their size.

"No, you're simply too big," the doorknob said, waking up. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jumped back in shock while May and Sarina looked on in awe.

"It talks!" Donald yelled. The doorknob let out a loud yawn.

"Must you be so loud? You woke me up."

"Good morning," Goofy said politely, waving.

"Good night," the doorknob replied, "I need a bit more sleep."

"Wait!" Sora said, getting on all fours and crawling towards the door, "What do we have to do to grow small?"

"Why don't you try the bottle….," the door suggested, "Over there?"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked over to the center of the room where a large white table materialized. Two small bottles, one with a red label and the other with a blue one, appeared on the table. May pushed a bed in the room into a nearby wall, knowing what would happen once they drunk the bottle.

May walked over to one of the bottles and picked it up.

"So who wants to go first? Sip, sip, pass," She offered, twisting the top off. Sarina stood by her, wary.

The rest of the quintet walked over to her, nervously. They didn't know what kind of spell was in that bottle. Sora took the bottle from May's hand, hesitantly. He lifted the bottle to his lips, and took a small sip. It was unexpectedly sour. He passed it over to Donald, who also took a sip, and then he passed it to Goofy. By the time May took a sip, everyone stood there awkwardly. Sora spoke up.

"So what's ne-,"

Everyone's body shook rapidly as each person grew the size of an ant. They fell to the floor, looking around the room that suddenly became MUCH larger.

"Wow…," May said. It was amazing.

It was amazing until hordes of heartless appeared around the room, ready to attack.

"Ugh," May said in annoyance.

* * *

"Everyone I love is dead is basically what you're trying to say," Miranda said flatly. She sat on a bed with Yuffie sitting next to her.

"Not dead, but completely shrouded in darkness along with your world," Leon explained. Miranda blinked, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Then they might as well be dead!" Miranda yelled, "I saw my ex-boyfriend get attacked by th-those things! You're trying to say he's still alive after that?" She directed angrily at Leon. Aerith laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"The keyblade wielders will save your friends and family. They'll bring an end to this," she said, hopeful.

"And if they don't?" The girl fired.

"They will," Yuffie replied confidently, not even entertaining the thought.

Miranda just sobbed in response. ' _They'll probably be gone forever. My parents, my brother. I didn't like that idiot, after all, he did cheat on me, but he didn't deserve THAT.'_

She thought of the people who didn't get their chests clawed out but instead was killed in the ensuing chaos. They certainly won't be revived when these keyblade wielders save their world.

' _The world went to hell, why couldn't I go with it?'_

* * *

Eventually, every heartless in the room was destroyed, and Sora walked over to an exit where the bed once was before they were shrunk. The rest of the group followed him, and they were led into a courtyard. Soldiers made out of cards blocked their line of vision, until they suddenly lifted up their swords, showing a little girl in a pale blue dress with white socks and black mary janes being put on trial in front of a rather obese woman acting as the judge. She wore a red and black dress with tiny golden crown on her head.

The white rabbit ran up a staircase, and stood on a ledge. He pulled out a trumpet and blew it, signaling the beginning of the trial. "Court is now in session!"

The girl, who had long blond hair and a black headband, looked at the rabbit in shock.

"I'm on trial? But why?"

The rabbit ignored her question. "Her majesty, the Queen of Hearts, presiding!" he announced. The queen, who was previously snoozing, snapped her eyes open.

"This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it," The queen decided. "And the reason is…because I say so, that's why!"

"This is going to end badly," May whispered to her twin. Sarina nodded worryingly.

The girl banged her hand on the table. "That's so unfair!"

"Well, have you anything to say in your defense?" The queen asked, smugly.

"Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong!" The girl answered, indignant. "You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be to so-so mean!"

"Wrong move," May whispered to Sarina. So they ended up in Wonderland just at the wrong time. Then again, was there ever a good time in Wonderland?

The queen turned red in complete anger. "Silence! You dare defy me?"

The group looked at the trial in horror. A little girl was going to sentenced to death if they didn't do something.

"Hey, guys, we should help her out!" Sora said. Donald looked up at him, frowning.

"Yeah but-,"

"We're helping her out," May sharply cut in, "Nobody should get decapitated for something they didn't do."

"We're outsiders, wouldn't that be muddling?" Goofy asked. "Meddling!" Donald corrected. Goofy nodded. "Oh yeah. And that's against the rules!"

"You guys are gonna allow this child to get her head chopped off?" May argued in anger while Sora wondered whether or it this was ethical. Sarina didn't have to wonder, she agreed with her sister. "You two are supposed to be royal knights, is it not in your oath to protect the innocent?"

"We can't interfere!" Donald barked, trying not to let his guilt show.

"The court finds the defendant…guilty as charged!" The queen sentenced as the girl shrank back in terror. "For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart…Off with her head!"

At the command, the card soldiers faced the girl with their weapons raised.

"No! No! Oh please!" The girl pleaded, waving her hands frantically. By then the group had enough and they ran up, deciding to defend her.

"Hold it right there!" Sora said.

"Who are you?" The queen demanded, "How dare you interfere with my court?"

Sora stood in front of her seat. "Excuse me. But we know who the real culprit is!"

May glanced at him, confused. "We do? Oh-Oh yeah we do!"

"Uh huh. It's the Heartle—," Goofy started before Donald covered up his mouth.

"Anyway, she's not the one you're looking for," Sora continued. The queen tapped her heart-shaped wand, unamused. "That's nonsense. Have you any proof?"

"Your Majesty, this girl is a child of ten. She looks like an outsider to this world, and she looks like she just got here. There is no way she can plot to harm you in any manner in such a short period of time," May pleaded for Alice's sake. She was reminded as to why she hated this movie. To her aggravation, the queen still didn't believe her.

"Um….," Sora trailed off. One of the card soldiers grabbed the girl and locked her in a human-sized bird cage.

"Bring me evidence of Alice's evidence! Fail, and it's off with all your heads! Gather as much or little evidence as you please. Report back here once you're ready," The queen ordered.

"She's even more horrible in person," May muttered as her and Sora walked over to the birdcage.

"Who are you?" Alice asked in sorrow as she seemed to already accept her fate.

"I'm Sora," he introduced, "and those two are May and Sarina." The twins waved.

"I'm Goofy and that there's Donald," Goofy added.

"Pleased to meet you, though I wish it was under better circumstances," Alice apologized, "I'm sorry you got mixed up in this nonsense."

"Why are you on trial in the first place?" Sora asked her. She folded her arms in irritation.

"I should like to know the same thing! Apparently I was guilty from the moment I took the stand!"

"That's crazy!"

"Well you wouldn't have much luck anyway," May cut in, "The queen is kind of an evil witch." Alice pouted in response. She then looked directly at May, and the older twin felt something in her chest twitch. She felt an odd connection with the girl.

"How did you come to know that?" The young girl asked.

"I just do," the older twin replied.

"So, where are you from?" Sora decided to ask another question. Alice tilted her head in confusion.

"Hmm, curious. I can't quite remember," she stated, "You see, I found this mysterious rabbit hole. When I tried to peek inside, I tumbled in head over heels—And I found myself here," she explained.

"So you're from another world!" Sora realized.

"That's funny. Maybe you don't need a ship then," Goofy added.

"I don't get it," Donald said, confused. How was that possible? Without the use of Gummi Ships, traveling to other worlds was impossible.

"What do you mean 'another world'?" Alice asked. A black card soldier then stomped his axe on the ground. "Enough! The defendant will be silent!"

"Don't worry Alice! We'll prove your innocence!" Sora promised as they walked away.

"Hopefully," May said, "Isn't she supposed to wake up at this point?"

"We're rewriting history," Sarina replied quietly, "Who knows what could happen?"

* * *

They exited the courtyard and went into the Lotus Forest to be exact.

A fat and striped head of a purple cat suddenly popped up in front of them. _'Great,'_ May thought, _'It's the Chesire Cat._ ' She hadn't forgotten how the Cheshire Cat screwed with Alice at every turn and nearly gotten her killed at the end of the movie if she hadn't woken up. _'OUR heads are gonna roll if we're not careful.'_

He popped in and out of vision until he finally appeared full body on a log. standing on top of his head. He stepped off it and reattached it to his shoulders.

"Who are you?" Donald demanded, jumping up and down.

"Who indeed?" The cat agreed, "Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head and she's not guilty of a single thing!"

"Hey, if you know, who the real culprit is, tell us!" Sora requested. _'Don't get your hopes up, Sora, he won't tell us a damn thing,'_ May thought bitterly.

"The Cheshire Cat has all the right answers—but doesn't always tell," the cat answered cryptically. _'I knew it,'_ the older twin said in her mind.

"The answer, the culprit, and the cat all lie in darkness," the cat answered. He disappeared, leaving nothing behind.

"Wait!" Sora called out.

"They've already left the forest. I won't tell which exit," the cat's voice stated, "There are four pieces of evidence in all. Three are a cinch to find. The fourth is tricky. Big reward if you find them all."

"Should we trust him?" Donald asked everyone. The cat reappeared.

"To trust, or not to trust? I trust you'll decide!" The cat then disappeared again, permanently this time. Several heartless popped up, making the group groan. After slaying them, May went over to area, containing a small pink box. She picked the box and opened it, revealing a patch of dirt with some footprints on it.

"Guys! I think I found evidence number #1!"

Sora walked over to her and examined it. "Awesome! Now all we need is three!" He said excitedly.

Sarina walked over to a yellow flower. "Give me a potion," it requested. Sarina reached her pocket and pulled out a tiny green bottle. It turns out that some of heartless were carrying items that were released when they were killed. She held it to the flower's mouth. It drank the potion and promptly bloomed, releasing an even larger green jar. "Thanks," it said.

Sora leaped on several large leaves until he reached the last leaf on top, which was connected a tree. He called everybody to follow him. When the rest of the group reached to his area, they followed him into the tree's hole.

They ended up back into the bizarre room, falling unto the chimney. Another pink box sat there by them, and Sora picked it up and opened it. He recoiled at the foul stench radiating from the box.

"Urgh, I think this is evidence #2," he stated, closing the box back up. The group jumped down and ran back towards the exit that led them into the queen's yard. From there, they went into the Lotus Forest again, determined to explore more of it. May jumped onto some mushrooms until she reached a leaf pad with another pink box. Inside the box was some of antenna, most likely belonging to a heartless.

"Gross…," the older twin said in disgust. Sora was leaping on another set of leaves, where a treasure chest stood at the top. With his keyblade, he opened it up, and three Dalmatian pups ran out and disappeared.

"How the-how are they breathing in there? And where did they go?" He was dumbfounded. He jumped of the leaf and landed on the ground, where another yellow flower was waiting for him.

"Give me a potion and I'll make you bigger," it offered. He pulled out a potion from his pocket and gave it the flower. The flower bloomed, releasing some pollen unto Sora. Sora vibrated and grew so big; he was as tall as the tallest trees in the forest. "Whoa!"

May looked up at him. "How did that happen?"

"That flower did it!" Sora answered, pointing at the flower. _'This place is so weird!'_ He walked towards a tree with an apple.

"Take a bite out of me. I'm ripe enough to eat," it requested. Sora looked at it, disturbed. "You want me to eat you? But you're alive!" _'That is so—so wrong!'_

"It's alright, just one bite," it pleaded. Internally wondering what kind of cuckoo world he was in, he begrudgingly took a bite out of it, shrinking him down to normal size. "Well that was pretty anticlimactic."

"Over here!" May said from the top of a leaf. The group jumped over to her, and they fell down another entrance into the Bizarre Room.

This time they landed on a water spicket, where the final box laid on a nearby ledge. Without thinking too long, May jumped from the spigot to the ledge and opened the final box to reveal claw marks. Everybody else looked at each other and then jumped on the ledge.

"Glad we're still alive," May said. The Cheshire Cat then materialized on the spigot.

"Well, look what you you've found. Nice going," it congratulated. Sora smiled.

"Now we save Alice," he cheered. The twins frowned at each other. Something told them that this situation still wasn't going to end well.

"Don't be so sure!" the cat said, confirming their suspicions, "She may be innocent, but what about you?"

Sora looked at the cat in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I won't tell, but I'll give you this!" The cat said. He casted a white light over Sora and May, enveloping them.

"You now know the power of ice," it said gleefully, and then disappeared.

"That's cool I guess," May shrugged.

* * *

When they went back to their courtyard, May and Sora took out all four boxes and laid them out on the stand. Sarina, Goofy, and Donald stood on another stand.

"These boxes all contain evidence that clearly wouldn't belong to a ten year girl!" May stated proudly.

"Soldiers, bring me my evidence!" The queen demanded. A red soldier walked up and put a box on the stand. "Hmm, checking all five would be a waste of time. All right then, choose the one you wish to present. I'll decide who's guilty based on the evidence."

"Umm, after all we went through, wouldn't that be unfair?" Sarina asked from where she, Donald, and Goofy were standing.

"You dare object? Then you will lose your head! Now choose, one box!" The queen stomped in anger.

Shaking her head, May opened up the box in the middle.

The box shook, and a soldier popped out and then disappeared, scaring the queen into anger.

"What in the world was that?" She demanded. The group looked at her nervously. Sora calmed himself and cleared his voice.

"That was your evidence that Alice was innocent!" Sora replied. The queen growled in anger.

"Silence! I am the one who gives the orders around here! Article 29: Anyone who defies the queen is guilty!" She sentenced.

"That's crazy!" Donald yelled, jumping.

"We've done nothing wrong!" May pleaded, her heart racing.

"Seize them at once!" She ordered her card soldiers. Every hedge and plant in the yard flattened, and a tower with a wheel appeared in the center. A black card soldier spun it, shooting Alice's cage high up.

The card soldiers began to attack them, with the queen threatening to decapitate them if any of the group touched the birdcage.

May hopped on the stand where the queen sat, and smacked her in the face with her key, knocking the queen out. "I've wanted to do that since seeing the movie!" She cheered. "Sora, destroy the tower!"

Dodging a card soldier's blow, Sora complied and began whacking the tower. Sarina, Donald, and Goofy covered him by attacking them with magic and shield blows. Instead of dying, the soldiers simply passed out.

Eventually the tower crumbled into pieces, and the birdcage slid to the ground. Sora ran up the cage while the queen woke up and looked at the cage in shock. The cage, which was turned backwards, turned back around to reveal…

...That Alice was not in the cage.

"What?" May said, jumping from the queen's stand. Donald, Goofy, and Sarina walked over and looked the cage in worry.

"She must've have been kidnapped while we were fighting," Donald concluded.

"How could that have happened," May argued, "We would have seen it!"

"You fools!" The queen bellowed to her soldiers, "Find the one who's behind this! I don't care how!" The soldiers scattered quickly at the command.

"We have to find her," May argued, "before they do!"

The group ran towards the forest, where a red flower released a giant boulder. The Cheshire cat appeared. Sora walked up to him.

"Have you seen Alice?" He asked him. The cat shook his head.

"Alice, No. Shadows, yes." The cat then disappeared. The group ran into one of the entrances to the Bizarre Room, where the cat reappeared on a ledge.

"They're hiding somewhere. And the mome raths outgrabe. Want to find the shadows? Turn on the light," it instructed, then disappeared. Sarina looked over to all the lamps in the room. She lit the closet one next to her with Fire. She glanced at everyone else, and they nodded and began to repeat the process until every lamp in the room was filled.

By the time the last lamp was lit, the cat reappeared in front of them.

"All the lights are on. You'll see the shadows soon," it promised, "They'll arise in this room, but somewhere else. The shadows might go after that doorknob, too."

It disappeared again, popping up on the table with the two bottles. The group climbed up to the table, looking at him expectantly. The cat danced around, grinning widely.

"The shadows should be here soon," it started, "Are you prepared for the worst? If not, too bad!" He pointed upwards, and the group looked up to see a giant, bizarre looking heartless jump down from the roof and unto the floor. Its head was tall and was composed of several lavender and magenta segments, each segment having yellow eyes and a jagged mouth. Its arms were steel blue and looked like it was made out of paper. Each arm held blue and white stripped clubs. Its legs were spindly, resembling scissor jacks, and its feet were yellow, flat, and curled at the tips. Its body was very thin.

The giant heartless twirled its clubs menacingly. May looked at the cat.

"I hate you," she said flatly. The cat smiled even wider before disappeared.

"If we could beat that big armored thing back at Traverse Town, then we definitely this guy!" Sora boasted confidently. He, May, and Goofy jumped down to swing at the heartless' legs, while Sarina and Donald fired blizzard spells from the table.

The heartless slumped down for a moment, allowing May and Sora to strike blows at its head. They retreated when it rose back up, and lit its clubs up with fire. It rapidly swung at them with the clubs, making them roll in order to dodge it. It then shot fire spells at Sarina and Donald, almost making them fall of the table.

May shot a fire spell at its head to distract it from them. She then ran while the heartless trailed after her, causing minor shock waves along the way.

The heartless backed her into a corner. It raised its batons, ready to slam it down on her. Then, suddenly, with a combined effort, it was brought down to the ground by the rest of the group. Sora struck long, hard blows to its neck while Sarina and Donald fired blizzard spells unto its head. Goofy slammed his shield on each of its legs, paralyzing them.

May shot a fire spell at its head, and the heartless glowed brightly before disappearing, a lone heart being its only remains. The heart floated into the sky before disappearing.

"Was that the thing that kidnapped Alice and attacked the queen?" Sarina wondered out loud.

"Hopefully not," May said. The doorknob yawned loudly, catching everybody's attention.

"What a racket," it moaned, "How's a doorknob to get any sleep?" It opened its mouth really wide, and a large keyhole appeared. Sora's keyblade vibrated, and a blue beam shot forth and sealed the keyhole. The doorknob closed its mouth and went back to sleep. Everybody looked at Sora's keyblade in awe.

"What was that?" Donald asked him. A soft click sound emitted from the doorknob.

"You hear that? Sounds like something closed," Sora said. A gummi piece fell from the hole in the doorknob. Goofy picked it up and examined it. "This gummi ain't like the others. No sir."

Donald took it from his hand. "Okay, I'll hold onto it," he reasoned.

"The Cheshire Cat!" May shouted. Everybody else turned towards the table, where the cat sat.

"Splendid! You're quite the heroes," the cat complemented, "If you're looking for Alice, she's not here. She's gone! Off with the shadows, into darkness." With that, he disappeared.

"No…," Sora whimpered.

"All that we did was for nothing…," Sarina mourned.

"Well, she's just another person we have to save! We'll find her!" May said confidently. For some reason, she was beginning to get used to the fact that her life was severely in tatters. Sora smiled at her. "You're right, we can't give up now!" He agreed.

"Let's go back to our Gummi ship. We may be able to find Alice in another world," Donald suggested.

Walking back to the rabbit hole, the twins talked with each other.

"May…"

"I know. This entire situation is completely different from the movie."

Things were getting stranger and stranger by the minute.


	4. Olympus Colosseum

"Hey, how did you guys know so much about Wonderland?" Sora asked May as the gummi ship departed the world.

"From the movie," May answered then frown at Sora's confused look, "You've never seen the movie?" He shook his head. "Your island isn't very technically advanced isn't it?" He shook his head. "Not really," he replied. She lay back on the seat. "Well, Babyface, when this whole mess is over, you're coming to my world, and I'm going to show you a bunch of things likes movies and tv shows!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

"You're going to continue calling me that, aren't you?" Sora asked, annoyed. She nodded gleefully. "Ugh. Well I guess it'll be cool to see your world. Tell me more about it!"

As they talked animatedly, Sarina watched Jiminy as he wrote in his journal.

"What are you writing?" She politely asked him. He looked up at her. "Oh I'm recording everything we've encountered so far, like the Trickmaster."

"Trickmaster?" She repeated in confusion.

"The heartless we've encountered in Wonderland. I name every heartless we encounter," he explained cheerfully.

"Oh, then what do you call the one in Traverse Town?"

"Guard Armor."

"Oh, very interesting." She looked towards her twin and Sora, who gazed at her in wonder as she told about what people on Earth find entertaining. _'He likes her,'_ she thought, _'Boys have always been attracted to May, she's very pretty, but she likes him too, though she will never admit it.'_

* * *

The gummi ship stopped in front of a world with a coliseum on the top of it. As they entered the world's atmosphere, the sky became blue and big, fluffy clouds became visible. The ship landed at a coliseum at the foot of a hill in a large town. Nearby townspeople looked at the ship in a mixture of fear, confusion, and horror. When the ship parked in front of the gate, May was the first to step out.

"Hmm…this looks a lot like Greece. We must be in Hercules then!" She said cheerfully. Sora looked around the world in awe. Sarina also looked around, except she was confused at the fact that only the coliseum was visible now. _'Didn't we just see a town when we flew in?'_

"Didn't we just see a town?" May said, confirming her suspicion.

"We might be in a world-within-a-world," Goofy explained as him and Donald walked out the ship. Sora glanced at him, intrigued. "Really? That's possible?"

Goofy and Donald nodded at him.

From inside the courtyard, were two large golden statues standing in front of an equally large door. Two platforms made out of marble stood on the side of each statue, each holding a treasure chest. When May walked over to open one, more Dalmatian pups leaped out and then disappeared.

"Hopefully they're back home with their parents," she said. She followed everyone else into the lobby, where a fat and small satyr stood on a pillar, observing a banner. _'Phil,'_ the twins thought at the same time.

"Um-," Sora said, trying to catch the satyr's attention.

"Good timing," the satyr cut him off, "Give me a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me," He ordered, pointing to a nearby pedestal. May tried to speak up.

"Hey sir-,"

"I gotta spruce this place up for the games!" The satyr added. The group looked at each other awkwardly and complied, walking over and trying to push the heavy pedestal to other side of the room. They failed, and that was a combined group effort. After that, Sora wearily complained to the satyr.

"It's way too heavy!"

The satyr promptly stopped what he was doing. "What? What the hell do you mean too heavy?" He angrily turned to face the group. "Since when did you turn into such a punk ass?"

To his massive confusion, his pupil was not standing there but instead stood three kids and two talking animals. "Oh wrong guy. What're you doing here?" He demanded at the group. He hopped off the pedestal, puffed his chest out, and strutted towards the group. "This here's the world famous colosseum—heroes only!" He boasted. "And I got my hands full preparing for the games," he stalked towards Donald, making the duck back away, "So run along, pipsqueaks!"

Sora and May gave him dirty looks while Sarina frowned. He put his hands on his hips.

"We're here to see the stadium, sir" May said, making her voice sound polite as possible without her annoyance showing through.

"Look, it's like this girlie," he started, walking around; "Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the colosseum."

"We've fought ferocious monsters!" May argued, tapping her foot.

"You've got real heroes right here," Donald huffed.

"Yup," Goofy added while putting his hands on Sora and Sarina's shoulders, "They're real heroes chosen by the keyblade!" Sora and Sarina beamed while May smirked.

"And we're heroes too, you're looking at the court magician and captain of the royal guards at Disney Castle, which is ruled by Queen Minnie and her consort, King Mickey, who is a great keyblade master," Donald boasted, pointing at his chest. Phil gave them a blank look, and then he burst into laughter.

"Heroes? Those runts?" He guffawed, holding his stomach. The teens collectively glared at him, offended.

"What's so funny? We've fought a bunch of monsters!" Sora spat.

"And we're not sporting any broken or missing body parts!" May added, folding her arms. Who knew Phil was such an jackass up front? Then again, he was one in the movie. Phil kept laughing, tears welling up in his eyes. He eventually wiped his eyes and leaned back on the pedestal.

"Hey, if you can't even move this…," he said, and then tried to push the pedestal himself, failing. He kept on pushing, earning eyebrows lifts from the group.

"You can't call yourself…," he heaved as he was now trying to push the pedestal with his back, "a hero!" He finally gave up, sliding to the floor and rubbing his stomach. May let out a cough that suspiciously sounded like "Loser!"

"Okay, so it takes more than brawn," Phil admitted, "Well let's see what you can do!"

He took the "closed" sign of the coliseum entrance and guided them into the arena.

The arena was wide and grand, with several pillars and platforms taking up most of it. The ground and on the platforms, stood twenty barrels.

"The rules are simple," Phil explained, "One of you is going to destroy all twenty barrels in thirty seconds." He pulled out a stopwatch.

"I'll do it!" May stepped up. She summoned her keyblade and held it like a baseball bat as Phil pushed the stopwatch. "Go!"

She moved quickly and destroyed the first set of barrels. Then she jumped up and slashed at six more barrels. She flipped onto a platform and crushed the barrels there, and finally she flipped unto the other two platforms and destroyed each barrel on them. _'Geez, are these barrels made of paper?'_

Phil stopped his watch. "Thirteen seconds, not bad, for a beginner that is." May flashed a triumphant grin as everybody else did a thumbs up sign.

"Alright, next kid," Phil ordered as May leaped off the platform and sat on the bleachers. Sora walked up.

"I'm next!"

Phil walked over to a lever near the entrance of the lobby, and pulled it. The platforms took different forms, and twenty five barrels shot out from the ground and planted themselves firmly on the platforms. The satyr pulled out his stopwatch once again.

"You will destroy all twenty five barrels in a minute," Phil explained, "Go!"

Sora ran to one side of the platform, and slashed at one set of barrels. Then he ran to another side and clubbed at two more. As he ran past three pillars that stood in his way, he rolled over and smashed two more. He leaped onto the platform and smashed three more, and jumped on a block and smashed five more. He jumped on a higher block and destroyed the six barrels on there. When he leaped on the final block, he slashed the 24th barrel, which flew onto the 25th barrel on a particularly high barrel.

"Awesome!" May yelled from behind the bleachers. Sora feel heat rising in his cheeks, and he hung his head low. _'What would Kairi think? Wait, why would I be worried what Kairi thinks?'_

He leaped of the platforms, and joined May on the bleachers, frowning. He was disturbed by all the weird thoughts he was having about girls lately.

Phil looked up at Sarina. "Why do I get the feeling that you need a different kind of trial?"

She smiled awkwardly, "I specialize in magic. Or at least I think so."

"Hmm…," he pondered, "Oh I got it!" As he walked over to the lever again, this time, he pulled it all the way down.

The platforms reshaped again, this time forming into thin and tall platforms. Thirty target signs popped up. Sarina summoned her keyblade and pointed it forward.

"Destroy all thirty targets in a minute and a half," Phil ordered, "Go!"

Sarina's keyblade vibrated and shot forth projectile thunderbolts. _'So it worked this time,_ ' she thought, relieved. She rapidly fired more bolts at each target until every last one was destroyed. She shivered at the slight vibrations that the thunder spell was sending through her body, but she strangely did not mind it just with the fire and blizzard spells.

"When did she learn how to shoot lightning? We can't do that," May questioned while watching.

"Well Donald said that she was more advanced than either of us," Sora replied, "That's why she learned fire and ice spells before we did." They stood up from the stands and walked back to the rest of the group.

* * *

In the Lobby, Phil looked up at the teens.

"You know, you kids ain't bad," he complimented. Sora grinned and put his hands behind his head, while May smirked.

"Looks like I'm headed for the games," he boasted. May lightly punched his arm.

"Well I'm going to kick your ass and win the trophy," She shot, making him stick his tongue out at her.

"Afraid not," Phil rejected. The group looked at him, aghast.

"Why not?" Sora demanded.

"I thought you said we weren't bad!" May added, indignant. Phil held up two words. "Two words: You guys ain't heroes!"

Goofy counted the words on his fingers, confused.

"Come on!" Sora persisted, but Phil turned his nose up at him. May grabbed his arm and dragged him off. "Come on, we don't need to prove ourselves in some wack ass tournament," she said with a spiteful grin.

"Hey!" Phil replied, offended. The group ignored him and walked out the lobby.

As they walked down the steps and onto the ground, all deeply offended, a male voice called out to them. "Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?"

The group turned around immediately to see a being with blue skin, blue flaming hair, yellow eyes and black pupils, sharp teeth, and wearing a black toga. May and Sarina's mouths dropped in shock and fear; this wasn't any ordinary being, it was the God of the Underworld himself, Hades.

Not noticing the twins' shock, Donald crossed his arms and glared at the god. "Who are you?" He demanded rudely.

The god chuckled, "Hold on there, fuzz boy," he pondered mockingly, "Wait. Let me guess," He walked up to them, "You want to enter the games, right?" He stood behind Sora and placed his hands onto the latter's shoulders, inciting an angry glare from May, who was strangely still holding onto his arm. "Well, then, hey, get a load of this!"

Out of his hand, three passes puffed out of blue smoke, and he handed them to Sora. Sora smiled brightly. "Passes?" He asked excitedly. Having enough of this and deciding to let go of Sora's arm, May tried to speak up. "Get aw—Mmph!" Sarina swooped over and covered her sister's mouth hastily.

Although slightly suspicious by the twins' antics, Hades still kept up the persona of a used car salesman. "It's all yours. Good luck kids. I'm pulling for you, little shorties," he encouraged. May struggled to remove Sarina's hand from her mouth, but her twin was now actively restraining her. _'Angie's supposed to be the strong one, what the hell?'_

The god chuckled as he walked away. _'Interesting little brats….'_

Sora turned to speak to May, but Sarina held her hand up. "Can we have a moment?" She requested. He nodded and she pulled her protesting twin to the other side of the field.

May shoved Sarina's hand off her. "You're awfully aggressive for once," She hissed.

"You can't just out yourself like that," Sarina replied calmly. The older twin gave her an incredulous look. "What do you mean? We just received colosseum passes from a Disney villain? You really think he gave us that from the bottom of his heart?"

The younger twin frowned. "May, of course not. He obviously has some ulterior motive. But think about this, if we go around admitting out loud that we know what will happen in these character's lives, what do you think might happen? They will either think we're crazy or a villain may outright attack us. We need to act oblivious, like we have no idea of these people's existence, like Sora, Donald, and Goofy does. We can't stop or interfere in everything," she explained. May pouted.

"So basically we act like we don't know any of these characters."

"Yes, or at least the Disney versions."

"Fine."

Sarina looked at her twin's arm in concern. "Are you alright, May?"

May chuckled at her worry. "I'm fine, you didn't hurt me that much and you have a point."

They walked back to Sora, who gave them their passes with the biggest grin a fourteen year old could manage. They re-entered the lobby, where Phil gave them weary looks.

"What do you want? I told you, you kids ain't ready!"

Sora smiled proudly and simply gave him his pass while May waved hers around impishly. Phil looked at the pass, highly confused. "Hey, how you'd get these?"

"From a friend," May replied cryptically. _'It's actually sounds super illegal when I think about it.'_ Phil hopped up and snatched both her and Sarina's passes, and inspected them along with Sora's.

"Can we enter the games now?" Sora asked, annoyed. He was gonna flip out if Phil said no. He needed to do something fun so that he can forget for just one moment that he was a lost boy with no friends or family.

"Well…I guess so," Phil begrudgingly accepted, "We start with the preliminaries!"

"Awesome! We'll blast right through them, right guys?" May boasted.

"Yeah!" Sora and Donald replied. Phil pulled out a list, "Some real weirdos signed up for the games. Better watch yourself," the satyr warned.

* * *

"Alright, who's our first opponents?" May asked confidently as she, Sarina, and Sora summoned their keyblades. Donald and Goofy opted to watch them from the stands.

Her question was quickly answered when four Soldiers and five Blue Rhapsodies appeared the arena.

"Heartless can participate in tournaments?" Sora said, incredulous. He rolled out the way of a blizzard attack, but quickly got kicked in the face by a Soldier. The heartless went in for another kick when May thrusted her keyblade through its chest, killing it.

"You're not going to last long in the tournament if you can't adapt quickly, Babyface," May teased. She then whipped around quickly and fired a Fire spell at a Blue Rhapsody, making it combust. Sora pouted and promptly began to whack at a nearby Soldier. To his frustration, the heartless spun out of his reach before he could deliver the killing blow. He tried to shoot fire at a Blue Rhapsody, but it quickly dodged out of his fire.

The twins' combined efforts led to six of the heartless being destroyed, with the final one continuously flying away. Irritated, Sora began to club at the Soldier, not letting it escape. The heartless faded away in exhaustion.

May walked over and patted his shoulder. "You should get angry more often, it strangely suits you," she said, making him confused. The three teens took a victory pose, albeit Sarina simply bowed humbly. The trio walked back over to Phil, who actually looked impressed.

"You're no heroes yet, but you ain't doing bad. Lucky you came to me for coaching," Phil complimented.

"This is going to be so cool!" Sora boasted, grinning. "I'm always up for a competition!"

"Even against guys like that?" May asked suddenly. Sora looked at her confused until he saw what she talking about. A tall young man with blond hair that was spikier than even Sora's walked past him. His eyes were an icy blue and he had a red cape flowing from his back and covering his jaw and a metal claw on his left hand.

"That's a…rather dark outfit," May noted, looking at his indigo pants, black sleeveless shirt with a brown belt, and brown boots. "Is he one of the weirdos you were talking about, Phil?" She directed at the satyr.

"Looks like it," Phil replied, "Something tells me he'll be a tough one to beat. Who knows, maybe one of you kids will end up facing him."

"Hopefully not me," Sarina said quietly while twirling the tip of her ponytail. She hung her head down and blushed shyly as well, earning a suspicious glance from her twin. ' _I didn't know you had a taste for blondes, Sarina,'_ May thought mischievously.

"Alright," Phil said, catching their attention, "Match #2 stars now!"

The trio walked back to the arena where ten Shadows and three Blue Rhapsodies appeared out of small purple portals.

Not wasting any time, Sora rushed forward and began to slash at three Shadows while May went after the three Blue Rhapsodies. Sarina was casting thunder spells while dodging attacks from nearby Shadows.

One managed to slash her arm with it claws, making her wince in pain. It slashed at her other arm, making her nearly drop her keyblade. It then pounced on her, and in a panic, she yelled out Thunder, killing it.

"Cure!" She yelled out, healing herself. She was shocked that the spell actually worked.

May chased after the final Blue Rhapsody, destroying the other ones. It fired Blizzard at her, encasing her in ice.

"May!" Sora called in horror. He angrily casted Fire at the heartless in retaliation, disintegrating it. His keyblade then vibrated and shot out lightning bolts at nearby Shadows, destroying them.

"Woah," Sora paused for a moment, "So that's the Thunder spell."

By then, Sarina had finished off the remaining heartless. She looked at her sister, worried. She had an idea of what to do, but she didn't know if it would work or not. 'But I need to do something fast….'

She walked over the block of ice and heated up her keyblade. She directed it towards the ice, and fire shot out. The fired slowly melted the ice, and by the time it was completely gone, May flopped down on the ground, shivering.

"I-I…h-hate..th-th-those..bl-blue th-things," she hissed. Sarina kneeled and rubbed her back soothingly. Sora bent down to her. "Are you going to be alright?" He asked, concerned. Despite the chills going on in her body, she gave him a thumbs up sign.

Phil was still amazed. "Say, you're better than I thought, kids!" He complimented, "Wish he was here to see this."

"Who?" Sora questioned.

"Hercules," Phil replied, "He's a hero if there ever was one. Too bad he's off visiting his father."

 _'So the events of the movie already happened,_ ' May thought, _'Then where's Meg?'_ She was Hercules's girlfriend, how come she wasn't here? Unless she was with him visiting his father, then that would make a lot of sense.

"Alright! Next match!" Phil ordered. Sora helped May off the ground, and the three teens got prepared for their next match.

* * *

An hour later, the group was rejoicing at two more victorious rounds won by Sora, May, and Sarina.

Hades and the young man from earlier were watching from behind a small dark gate on the other side of the colosseum.

"Those little punks are your next opponents, okay?" Hades explained, "Now, don't blow it. Just take them out. Don't leave a single one alive."

"The great god of the Underworld is afraid of a couple of kids?" The young man asked, unamused, "Sorry, but my contract says—"

"I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the contract!" Hades snapped, his blue flames roaring, "I know it says you're only required to kill Hercules in this tournament. But you gotta fight those brats to get to him. Come on." The young man still wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Hey, it's like that old goat says…," The lord of the dead pressed, "Rule 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it! I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal right?"

The young man stood there for a moment, and then he silently walked away.

"Geez, stiffer than the stiffs back home," Hades said, "Still, suckers like him are hard to come by…"

* * *

A half hour later, the trio watched as a really large heartless disappeared into the air.

"That guy was the worst," May said to Sora, who was holding his sore arm. Sarina said nothing, only drinking a Potion.

"Yeah," he winced, "I can't believe we could only attack from behind unless we're using magic."

"Luckily, we could block him with our keyblades," May added. May looked over to Phil, who was reading a list. "Alright Phil, who's our final opponent?"

"Some dude named Cloud," he answered.

The young man from earlier entered the arena, looking quite menacing.

"Well what do you know? You kids are fighting him!" Phil said, interested.

Sarina looked at him fearfully while Sora and May took a confident fighting stance.

"Pfft, we're gonna win!" May boasted while Sora nodded in agreement.

Cloud summoned a massive sword, several feet long and covered in bandages. His eyes were now icier than before.

"We're gonna die!" May retracted in horror. Sora let a nervous chuckle in response.

 _'That sword is bigger than Leon's! How can he carry something that huge?'_ He thought.

From behind the gate, Hades gleefully mowed down on popcorn and a drink made from the waters of the River Styx. "Oh man, this is going to be easier than I thought! They don't stand a chance!" He predicted that all three would be dead within 30 seconds, and that was being generous. However if one thing was uncertain, it was Cloud's sword. _'I saw that sword before, ten years ago. Some other kid was wielding it. How he'd get it?'_

Phil blew his whistle and the match began.

The first person Cloud went after was Sarina, who tried to attack from a distance. She casted fire spells only for him to block every last one with his sword. He swung his sword at her, but she dodged it. Barely. She then tried to cast thunder but he knocked her keyblade out of her hands before she could finish the spell. She desperately crawled to retrieve it but Cloud swung his sword down, and she ended up skidding several feet across the arena. She was too hurt to lift herself up, and without her keyblade in her hands, she couldn't cast Cure.

 _'That's one,'_ Hades thought as he grinned wickedly.

Cloud went after May next, who brashly ran up to him in anger and slashed at him, aimlessly. He responded by blocking all her blows and quickly sending her flying in the air with his sword. When she landed, she crashed right down on Sarina, making them both cry out in pain.

 _'That's two,'_ Hades thought, getting quite excited. He hasn't been this excited to see chaos since he unleashed the titans on Mount Olympus.

Only Sora was left to oppose this brutal opponent. With a yell, he rushed towards Cloud, raising his keyblade like a warrior. He was getting ready to unleash a deadly combo towards the male…only for Cloud to jump up into the air and crash down on him, knocking the wind out of Sora. Cloud then unleashed his own deadly combo, by repeatedly dealing quick and violent blows unto Sora's body. With the final blow, the young male soon joined the twins, thoroughly defeated.

 _'YES!'_ Hades rejoiced. He looked at his stopwatch and saw that indeed, they all went down in thirty seconds. Now it was Hercules turn. The god then decided to make his grand appearance in the colosseum. He blocked Phil's attempt to give aid to the wounded teens by tripping him over with his foot.

Cloud walked over to the trio. They looked at him scared and defeated. He raised his sword in preparation to kill them all in one strike, but looking at their faces, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Cloud knew he was a lot of terrible things, but a child murderer wasn't one of them. He lowered his sword and prepared to walk away.

 _'WHAT?'_ Hades roared, his flames now glowing orange and red. _'The punk suddenly decides he can't do it? Fine, then I'll do this my own way!'_

He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, before Cloud was even near the gate, Cerberus appeared and promptly pinned the blonde to the ground with its feet. Cloud was instantly knocked out.

Sora gasped in horror at the demonic hound's massive size, and all three heads let out a vicious roar.

"Oh right," Hades remembered, "There was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen." The god was back in the dark area safely behind the gate. The hound got into position to chomp down on the little brats, and he grinned in wicked satisfaction. There was no way anyone was going to survive his loyal hellhound.

Unfortunately for the god, at that moment the son of Zeus and Hera suddenly appeared and was fending the massive hound off of the teens.

"Herc!" Phil called out. Hades spewed out a series of violent curse words that didn't belong in any Disney product.

"Phil! Get them out of here!" Hercules warned his mentor. Donald and Goofy were out the stadium in seconds, with the twins running behind them despite their bruises. Sora looked at Hercules fighting the hellhound for a moment and then reluctantly ran in the lobby.

* * *

"Whew! That was close," Phil said in relief.

"What is that thing that's attacking the coliseum?" Sora asked.

"That was Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld. Herc should be able to handle it," the satyr explained casually, "But then again, maybe not—This doesn't look good," he retracted.

The twins sent each other worryingly looks. It was beginning to dawn on them that this was most likely Hades' doing. Perhaps he wanted to use them to kill Hercules but they didn't make the cut so he decided to have them killed. Or maybe that blond guy was meant to kill Hercules and they simply stood in the way. Whatever it was they had to do something fast.

Sora basically made the decision for them by walking towards the entrance to the arena. The group quickly followed him, until Phil spoke up.

"You kids aren't thinking about entering the arena, aren't ya?" Phil said, worried, "This ain't some match! This is for real!"

"I'm not afraid," Sora replied fearlessly, "You can decide if we're hero material or not."

"Yeah, we can't just leave somebody to get ripped apart by demon dogs. We have to help him, besides we faced monsters as big as him," May added.

"You can count on us!" Donald boasted. Phil sighed, "Fine. Be careful out there!"

The group nodded and walked out the lobby into the colosseum, where Cerberus had Hercules back into a corner. The demigod had an unconscious Cloud hoisted on his shoulder.

"Hey Demon Clifford!" May called out to the massive hellhound, "Over here!" The guard dog turned his attention on the group, leaving Hercules to carry Cloud to safety. He ran past Phil, who gave the group some last advice before running off.

"Kids, I got two words of advice for you: Attack!"

"His math sucks," May grumbled. Cerberus let out a loud roar, which shook the stadium.

Donald immediately fired Blizzard at one of its jaws, freezing one. Sora ran around the dog, and was attacking its tail. The dog's jaw thawed quickly and it tried to clamp down on Goofy but the royal knight managed to successfully block the attack with its shield.

Determined not to go down easily, Cerberus began to walk around the field, narrowly missing a thunder spell from Sarina. It was spitting up fireballs everywhere it went, burning up the stadium.

May ran around to the front and slashed at its mouth. The large hound head butted her in retaliation, sending her flying into the bleachers.

"Ow," she yelped, trying to get up. To her shock, she was successful, and her keyblade appeared in no time. _'I'm like a superhero or something! I should be dead by now!'_

Sarina was having severe difficulties on trying land a spell on the dog. It was annoyingly dodging every spell, and she was spending more time dodging its rapid bites and fire balls than actually fighting it.

She observed as Sora, Donald, and Goofy were knocked back by all three heads, sending them into unconsciousness. Before the dog could chomped down on them, Sarina rapidly hit its head with Thunder, making it step back in pain. She then casted Cure on her party members. They woke back up, healed and ready fight again.

May jumped on its head on the right, swinging down on it. It grunted and tried to shake her off but she held onto it, with Sora slashing its body from the side. Eventually, it had enough and it stood on its hind legs, leaving May to hang on for dear life. It then slammed back down, sending a huge shockwave that pushed back Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and sending May flying into Sora, who cushioned her fall.

Now Cerberus was getting even more aggravated, as he was beginning to feel worn down. He started to shoot out large dark balls, which spread out into the ground, and shot up white beams. One got Donald, and the court wizard cringed in pain at the burns he felt. The dog then let loose a dark stream of fire from his mouth, nearly charing up Goofy, who was blocking with his shield.

Putting aside her fears of falling, Sarina climbed unto Cerberus' back. The dog sensed her presence and tried to shake her off like May, but she persisted. She casted Thunder repeatedly, making the demon hound in pain. The guard dog tried to use its shockwave attack again, but Sarina quickly put an end to that with another Thunder spell to its head.

In a panic, the dog was now firing fireballs all over the stadium, nearly hitting the party members below.

"Let's shut its mouths!" May suggested. She froze one jaw shut while Sora and Donald froze the other ones. Cerberus was panicking even worse now that all three of his jaws were frozen. Sarina was now firing thunder spells continuously until it let out one final roar and collapsed, defeated. Sarina sighed in relief and carefully jumped down its back. She walked back to the rest of the party members, who drinking potions to heal themselves.

"That was pretty horrific," Sarina admitted as she used Cure on herself. She was worn out fighting Cerberus; she hoped none of the titans popped up next.

"Great job, sis!" May cheered as she ran up to her. Sarina blushed bashfully while awkwardly giving Sora a high five.

"Well, that's certainly proof that we're real heroes," May replied, "We bravely faced a gigantic demon hound from the Underworld and lived. What does Phil have to say to that?"

* * *

"Thus I hereby dub thee junior heroes…," Phil declared, reading a statement. They were back in the lobby, watching Phil as he gave them their title, with Hercules standing next to him. "….and confer thee the rights and privileges to participate in the games. Furthermore—"

"Hey! What do you mean 'Junior heroes'?" Donald snapped. For Pete's sake, he was an accomplished wizard and loyal companion to the king for seventy years, even when said king was once only a musketeer. He put up with Goofy's, Daisy's, his uncle's, and his nephews' antics for just as long. He was a real hero damn it!

"Yeah, what's that supposed to mean?" May demanded.

"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero," Phil explained. Donald and Sora looked ready to explode. May shrugged. _'Eh whatever, we'll prove it to you old goat!'_

"So what does it take?" Goofy asked gently before Donald and Sora could protest. Hercules answered before Phil could.

"Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves," he said, "Just the way I did."

Sora smiled confidently. "No problem. We'll start by proving ourselves in the games!"

"Yeah! When's the real games starting?" May added. Phil crossed his arms as Hercules frowned.

"There ain't gonna be any games for awhile," Phil stated, "Gotta clean up the mess from that last battle first."

"Aww…," May whined. Sora patted her shoulder, and she simply pouted and followed him out the door with the rest of the party.

"Okay we'll be back!' He said, optimistically.

"I wish you the best on the reconstruction," Goofy wished, being the last one to walk out the Lobby.

Phil and Hercules waved them off.

"I still can't believe those squirts actually beat Cerberus," Phil said in disbelief. Hercules leaned in his ear. "Just between us, I already worn Cerberus down by the time the kids jumped in," the demigod admitted. Phil's eyes widened.

"My lips are sealed," the satyr promised while snickering.

* * *

The group walked towards the world exit, only to see Cloud sitting sorrowfully in front of it.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sora asked, concerned. The older male looked up at him.

"Yeah," he replied.

"So why'd you go along with him, anyway?" Sora continued. As soon they entered the lobby after taking down Cerberus, Phil and Hercules quickly told them that the incident was most certainly caused by Hades, the sketchy god that gave them the tickets to the tournament. Sora was pretty bummed to find out how evil the god really was. Cloud put his face in his hands, not sure if he should tell them.

"I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help," Cloud explained, "I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired," he stood up, "I fell into the darkness and couldn't find the light."

"Well, plenty of people make mistakes in making deals with the devil, but that doesn't mean you are too far gone," May spoke up, "You'll find the light. I'm sure you will."

"Yeah, I'm searching too," Sora added. Cloud looked at him, slightly shocked. "For your light?" Sora nodded. The older male walked up to him, and gave him something.

"Don't lose sight of it." He began to walk away.

"I wish the best for you," Sarina said shyly. May grinned at her impishly.

"How about a rematch sometime?" Sora offered, "Fair and square, no dark powers involved." Cloud stopped in his tracks. He flicked the spikes on his hair arrogantly.

"I think I'll pass," he smirked.

Sora smirked right back, having a feeling that he'll see him again.

The party walked into the world exit, where the gummi ship waited.

* * *

"Hercules. He's strong, he's kind. He's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot," Hades said as he glared at a hologram of Hercules, "He's perfect. Perfect. Perfectly infuriating! He makes me crazy!"

Hades snapped and turned red, with a pillar of fire shooting up into the sky from within him. He then suddenly calmed down. "Wait a minute. What are you worried about? All the pieces are in place. Relax," he told himself, looking at the world exit. It was late at night; Phil and Hercules should be asleep at this point, just so he had no worries with them suddenly popping up.

He continued to talk to himself. "Here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kids. In the next game, I'll take care of them all." He balled his fist at the thought. And if that blond haired stiff neck was there, then he'll snipe him too.

The god felt a presence behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see the green fairy behind him.

"Who invited you to the party?" Hades spat, "Stay out of this. This is my show."

The green fairy smiled wickedly. "As you wish. Fight to your heart's content." She walked away, leaving Hades to glare at her retreating figure.

* * *

Back on the ship, Sora snored away with Jiminy resting on his chest. Donald and Goofy stayed awake, knowing that the ship could encounter enemies at any time.

The twins were still awake as well, not feeling tired.

May poked her twin, who was drawing in a book Donald had given her.

"Sarina?"

"Yeah?"

May leaned in her sister's ear.

"Leon is way hotter."


	5. Deep Jungle

In the morning, Sora stirred awake and yawned. He stretched out his arms and groaned. Another day and they still haven't found any traces of the King, nor his friends. He was already worried, now he was getting anxious.

He looked over to May rebraiding her hair into two long plaits that reached all the way down to her back.

"Your hair is really long," He said as he walked over to her.

"Yeah it's like 24 inches. You should see it when it's flat ironed or straightened," May replied as she finished. Good thing she always carried hair bands and a comb on her or her hair would have been screwed. If only she had a jar of hair grease too...

"How do you manage it on day to day basis?"

"Easy. I comb it, braid my hair into all these different styles, or put it into a ponytail or puffs, then comb it out at the end of the day, rebraid it into twists and put a cap over my head before bed. Rinse, repeat. I rarely leave my hair out unless it flat ironed. I dunno, I just love styling my hair," she explained, shrugging. She looked over to Sarina, who was currently drawing. "Her hair isn't as bushy or thick as mine, but it's still pretty coiled and puffy. She just prefers to relax her hair into a more looser texture."

Sora tilted his head. "So how come you don't 'relax' your hair?"

"I just don't. I haven't had a relaxer in my hair since I was twelve.  
I just prefer my natural hair. That's all."

"Hey, Donald, maybe King Mickey's down there," Goofy spoke to his companion. Overnight Donald and Goofy switched positions so that Donald was now piloting the ship. Sora looked out the window to see a world that looked like it was made up of a large jungle.

Donald looked at the dog, shocked that he would even suggest such a thing. "In that backwater place? No way! Let's move on!"

"You never know Donald," May suggested, earning a glare from the duck.

"The king would never end up in a world like that!"

"How would you know that? You mentioned that the king is investigating different worlds. Would he really bypass a world because it's "backwater"?" May reasoned. Donald ignored her.

Sora ran up to Donald's seat. "Hold on, Riku and Kairi might be down there!" He pleaded, "Let's go down there!"

Donald turned his nose up at him. "Forget it! We're on an important mission!"

"But you promised him that you guys will help him find his friends," May spoke for Sora, " We should at least check the world out for couple of hours."

Sarina clutched her sketch pad, scared. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the group's big fight would happen but she didn't want it to be this early.

Sora would not back down, and his anger was spiking significantly. "Just land!"

"No!" Donald persisted.

"Come on!" Sora shouted at the same time.

"Aw phooey!" The duck mocked. Sora grabbed the handle. "We're landing!" The ship began to rapidly shake. Donald tried to pry his hands off the handle. "No! Don't touch that!" The two of them began fighting for the control of ship, with the ship taking a downward spiral towards the world.

Goofy tried to grab Donald, but the duck was determined to keep fighting with the brunette.

"Everybody calm down!" May shouted, but nobody listened.

Stuff was flying all over the ship, and Sarina was desperately holding onto her seat. Jiminy latched onto her bow, hoping against hope that the ship would not crash.

Chaos spread throughout the ship, until everything went black.

* * *

Sora and May came crashing down on a tree house in the middle of a jungle. They surprisingly landed without breaking any bones, though May was once again on top of Sora. She rolled off a him quickly before he had a chance to react. May blushed heavily without him noticing.

Sora sat up and rubbed his sore head. "Ow…my head…," he groaned, "Donald? Goofy?" He called out for their fr-partners. There's no way in hell those two were his friends after what happened with him and Donald. _'I can't believe he refused to look for Riku and Kairi down here! They're the reason I went with him and Goofy in the first place! Did he just lie just to get me to go with him and Goofy?_

"SORA!" May called out, pointing to the top of the tree house. Sora looked up, and to his horror a leopard jumped down towards him. He tried to block it with his keyblade but the animal swiped it out of his arms and pushed him back into a wall. He and May watched in fear as the leopard looked at them with murderous intent in its eyes. The leopard pounced towards them, but before it could kill them, a man swung into the tree house with a spear and knocked the leopard back.

"Tar-," May stopped herself before she could finish. _'Can't reveal I know his name,'_ she thought bitterly.

He fended it off with his spear, and when the leopard saw that it wasn't getting a meal this time, it leaped out the window, waiting for a better opportunity.

"Thanks," May said to the man in gratitude. The man had blue-green eyes and brown hair in dreadlocks. The only article of clothing he had on was a tattered loincloth around his waist.

"Sabor…bad," the man said.

"Um…thank you," Sora replied.

"Thank you," the man repeated slowly. Sora looked at him confused.

"Huh? Uh, what is this place," he asked him. _'We're in a jungle in Africa,'_ May wanted to say.

"This place, this place," the man repeated. Sora suppressed a groan.

"Okaaay…where did the others go?" The man tilted his head.

"Look, I got separated from my friends. Have you seen them?" Sora pressed.

"Babyface, he might not understand our language well," May pointed out. He looked at her and sighed.

"Friends…," Sora explained slowly. The man nodded quickly. "Friends!"

The brunette smiled, "Right, my friends! There's two of 'em. The loud one is Dona-," he stopped right there, "You know what? Nevermind. I'm looking for my friends, Riku and Kairi."

"And my sister, Rini," May added. Sora nodded.

"Looking for Riku, friends? Kairi, friends? Rini, sister?"

"Right!" They said at the time. Sora peered over the man's shoulder and saw Kairi, who smiled at him and walked away.

"Uhh…right…," Sora trailed off.

"Friends here," the man replied.

"Really?" Coming to this world was a great idea after all!

The man started speaking in another language, suspiciously sounding like he was talking like a gorilla, making the other brunet look at him like he was crazy.

"Huh?" Sora asked, looking at May for help. The girl shrugged, not knowing what the man was saying.

"Friends here," the man repeated.

"Not sure I understand, but show me!" Sora encouraged. He wanted to see his friends; he needed to see his friends! "Take me to Riku and Kairi!"

"Tarzan," the man introduced, "Tarzan, go."

"And I'm…Sora," the younger brunette happily introduced, "And she's May!" He directed at the older twin. "Tarzan go, Sora and May go go!"

"Yeah! Let's do it!" May added. The three of them walked out to the deck of the tree house…where it was quickly dawned on May and Sora that they would have to jump down on the large net surrounding the house.

It didn't look that safe either.

* * *

Donald, Goofy, and Sarina woke up in an area surrounded entirely of bamboo.

"Gawrsh, where are we?" Goofy asked, stirring awake. Sarina winced at the painful throbbing in her head. "We're in a jungle of some kind," her eyes widened, "Hey! Where's Sora and May?" She looked around the area, searching. She didn't spot them anywhere. They could be drowned in a river or eaten by an animal, and they had no idea where they were at.

"I sure hope they're okay," Goofy hoped.

"Aw, who needs em'," Donald spat, "We can find the king without them."

"So we're expendable? My sister is not important?" Sarina asked angrily, with sparks shooting off her body.

"Uh uh no," Donald retracted in fear, "Your sister, uh, we'll find her but Sora on the other hand is a no no." He never had seen the girl get that angry before. _'And she's a quick learner on magic too, she's a dangerous one!'_

"You promised to help him find his friends! You were lying this entire time? You guys were using us! You're a liar! How could you? HOW COULD YOU?" The younger twin screeched, now turning red in anger with tears coming out of her eyes. Smoke was coming out of her body as she raged. Now completely scared, Donald reached for his staff in case she started to cast Fire at them. However, he found a small female gorilla in his face instead.

"Huh?"

The gorilla roared and ran off, leaving a gummi block. A man walked in from another entrance, carrying a shotgun.

 _'Clayton!'_ Sarina thought in worry.

"Woo hoo!" Sora said as they slid down the tree branches. May tried to keep up the same optimism but she was panicking over the fact that if she fell over the branch and slammed into one of them, then she was as good as dead.

They landed down into a camp, with May landing on top of Sora. She snickered while Sora groaned in pain. He brushed her off and they followed Tarzan into a tent where a brunette woman, who May quickly recognized as Jane Porter, was working on something.

"Jane!" Tarzan called. The woman turned around to face him. "Tarzan," she smiled, "Oh, and who are these two?" She directed at Sora and May.

"Uh, hi there we're-,"

"Oh you speak English!" The woman cut him off, "So, then, obviously you two are not related to Tarzan. Are you here to study the gorillas?" May shook her head.

"Um not rea—,"

"Highly doubtful," A man cut in. He walked in with Donald and Goofy in tow.

"Sarina!" May called happily. She rushed over and hugged her twin tightly, who smiled shyly in return.

"Sora!" Goofy rejoiced.

"Goofy! Donald!" Sora replied joyfully in return. He and Donald held hands and bounced up and down…until they realized that they were supposed to be angry with each other. They promptly let go of each other and faced opposite directions, folding their arms angrily and glaring.

"So much for all for one and one for all," May muttered while Sarina and Goofy frowned sadly. The man with the shotgun looked at the display, thoroughly unamused.

"A circus of clowns," He huffed, "Not much use for hunting gorillas." May bit her lip to keep herself from responding rudely in return. Jane glared at the man while putting her hands on her hips. "Mr. Clayton, we're studying them, not hunting them. This is research!"

 _'He already tried to shoot down Terk,'_ May thought, _'it won't be too long before he tries to kill all the rest of them.'_ They would have to be careful with him considering he had shotgun that looked full and ready to use.

Jane smiled towards the rest of the group. "Well, the more the merrier. Do make yourself at home."

"With food?" May asked hopefully.

"I just made soup in a pot outside," Jane answered cheerfully. May grinned widely and rubbed her stomach in anticipation.

"Well I'm staying!" Sora and Donald said at the same time. They looked at each and glared.

"Sora, May, look at what we found. Look at this," Goofy called for their attention. He uncovered the gummi block in his hand.

"What's that?" Sora asked while he and May peered in to take a closer look.

"A gummi block. It's the same stuff used to build our ship," The dog explained. Sora's eyes widened, "So that means…."

"The king could be here," Donald finished for them, shocked, "So, we've gotta work together and find him." May snorted while Sora glared at him. The duck huffed and folded his arms. "For now."

"Why should we help you?" May argued.

"I promise that we'll all go our separate ways after this," the duck promised. She shared a look with Sora, and the brunette grumbled.

"Fine, we'll let you tag along…For now."

"What do you mean you'll let us tag along?" Donald spat, "If anything, you kids are the tagalongs! We're the ones with the ship!"

"And we're the ones with actual weapons," May fired back, "You guys fight with just a staff and shield!"

Donald charged up his staff in anger. "I'll show you a staff!"

"ENOUGH!" Sarina bellowed, scaring the two of them into silence. "Just shut up, the both of you!"

May hid behind Sora and Donald hopped onto Goofy's back. The both of them shivered in fright. Sarina sighed; she didn't like to yell. It was so improper.

"Well, the soup is ready. Does anybody want any?" Jane smiled nervously, sensing the tension in the tent.

"Yeah," Sora said flatly, "I'll take some."

"We'll take some too," Donald answered for him and Goofy. His eyes met Sora's, and they promptly stuck their tongues out at each other.

An hour later, after everybody ate, Sora walked up to Jane. "How come Tarzan's speech is weird?"

"Apparently Tarzan was raised in the jungle by the gorillas," Jane explained, "Communicating with him still isn't easy, but he's still learning."

"So he was speaking in gorilla back there," Sora realized. She nodded.

"Ah right, so you're looking for your friends?"

"He said Riku and Kairi were here," he answered, "And one other word I couldn't understand." Jane pondered what he said for a moment. "Why don't we try this?"

She pointed to a nearby movie projector. "We'll show Tarzan some slides and see if any of them match that word." She peered inside the projector, and suddenly frowned. "Oh what happened to the slides?

"I think I saw some outside, on some really high places," May answered. The group went outside the tent and to their annoyance; all the slides were on some really high places, like on piles of boxes and tent sheets. _'How is that possible?'_ Sora had to wonder.

When they retrieved all the slides from all over the camp, Jane called Tarzan over. The man was there in seconds despite seemingly being in another area. She put all the slides into a projector, and rolled the films.

The first slide appeared. On the slide was a colossal castle surrounded by a town. Something inside Sora's body thumped, and he gazed at the castle.

"What's wrong Sora?" Donald asked, slightly concerned even if he didn't want to admit it.

"What?" Sora snapped back to reality, "Umm…Nothing. This place just looks so familiar. But how? I've never been off my island."

"Maybe you saw it in a book somewhere?" May offered. Sora shook his head.

"I have never seen this in a book, ever." He had an odd feeling in his heart of all places; that place seemed way too familiar for something he never saw in his life . He gave Jane the signal to roll the rest of the slides.

"Well, Tarzan?" She asked the man. Tarzan just looked at her.

"Where are my friends, Riku and Kairi?" Sora asked of him. Tarzan shook his head, and Sora frowned. "Hey I thought—,"

"That leaves just one place," Clayton cut in while walking in the tent, "Young man, we've been in this jungle for some time now. But we have yet to encounter these friends of yours. I'd wager they're with the gorillas," the man looked at Tarzan accusingly, "But Tarzan refuses to take us to them."

May had to bite her lip again to keep herself from saying something nasty towards the man. Jane frowned at the implication of Clayton's words.

"Really, Mr. Clayton. Tarzan wouldn't hide—," she stopped as Clayton walked up the other male. "Then take us there!" He challenged, "Take us to the gorillas. Go-ril-las," he sounded out. Tarzan turned towards Sora, who looked at him hopeful. Truthfully, Tarzan didn't want to take them near his family, because he knew that Kerchak would be displeased. He gave him a choice; his pack or the humans, and though Tarzan was overjoyed at meeting people that looked like him, he couldn't betray his family like that. However, he didn't want Sora to keep searching for his friends with no end in sight. He nodded in confirmation.

"Tarzan…are you sure?" Jane asked gently. 'Yeah dude, are you sure?' May thought in her mind. To her, it was obvious that Clayton was only saying this so that he can poach some gorillas.

"Tarzan go see Kerchak," Tarzan confirmed.

"Kerchak?"Jane asked in confusion.

"He must be the leader. Perfect, I'll go along as an escort," Clayton concluded, not noticing the twins' horrified expressions on their faces. "After all, the jungle is a dangerous place," he explained with a shady smile on his face.

May was astounded that no one else (except her sister) is creeped out by his attitude. The man wasn't even hiding his malicious intent and no one was questioning it!

Reluctantly, she followed the group out the door.

* * *

They traversed across a lagoon filled with hippos. Tarzan led the group, with Clayton following directly behind him, carrying his shotgun. Donald, Goofy, and Sarina walked in the center while May and Sora hung in the back. Along the way, they found more Dalmatian pups, though they had to leap on several ledges to get to them. They also found a mega potion, which strangely fit into Donald's pocket despite its relatively huge size.

They had to swim through the pond to get to an area containing a vine. Each individual climbed up the branch until they reached the top of a large branch. On the branch in front sat two apes, male and female.

These two were more than just regular apes though, to Tarzan they were his mother and pack leader who had raised him since he was a baby…well at least his mother did.

"Kerchak, please listen to me," he pleaded in their language, "I know the resting grounds are secret, but I trust them! You see, I want to help them because…because…well they need us."

His mother, Kala looked at Kerchak for his opinion.

"Did you get that?" Goofy asked everyone else.

"No", "Nope", "Nah uh", and "Not a single word" were their responses.

Kerchak heard a sound and walked away, ignoring Tarzan's pleas. Kala followed, looking at Tarzan sadly.

"He seemed distracted by something," Donald noticed.  
 _  
'Was he looking towards the tree house?'_ Sora thought to himself.

"Vines," Tarzan simply said, pointing towards the vines. He latched onto the one on the tree next to them and climbed up quickly.

"Has anyone noticed that Clayton isn't here?" May asked everyone. Their eyes widened in realization. Sarina looked at her sister fearfully. "You don't think—,"

May was climbing up the vines before Sarina could finish. Sarina sucked up her fears and followed her up, with Sora, Donald, and Goofy right behind her. They leaped on a platform, which led back up the tree house…where Clayton was preparing to shoot Terk in the house. Donald angrily ran up to the man and screamed in his ear, causing Clayton to misfire. Terk looked up and ran up the steps in fear. Kerchak appeared next to her and glared down at the man.

The rest of the group appeared, with Tarzan gaping at Clayton in shock.

"What's the big idea?" Donald demanded of the man. Tarzan crawled forward and looked up at Kerchak. "Wait, Kerchak. Please," he pleaded.

The look on Kerchak's face said it all; Tarzan was a traitor to his pack. The gorilla glared and crawled out of the house, Terk following behind. Tarzan turned to glare daggers at Clayton. The man held up his hands in defense. "You don't understand! I was only trying to—,"

"Kill an innocent gorilla that was minding its own business so that you can sell its fur for profit?" May finished flatly. Clayton shook his head rapidly. "No, no. A snake slithered by, you see. I saved that poor gorilla's life!" He tried to convince.

"Liar," May spat in response. Tarzan frowned and shook his head, severely hurt by Clayton's actions.

* * *

Back at the camp, Jane scolded Clayton with vigor. "How could you do such a thing?"

"Now, Miss Porter," Clayton started, "As I told you, I was not aiming at the gorilla."

Nobody believed him.

"You are not to go near the gorillas ever again!" Jane ordered furiously. He chuckled deeply. "All because of one mishap? Come, now…," he stopped talking as everyone looked at him with the most vicious of glares. He backed out of the tent, offended. The fools honestly expected him to be content with just sitting around playing house with a bunch of apes. He was hunter to his core; a survivalist who prided himself as being on the top of the food chain.

"What am I doing with these imbeciles?" He had to wonder. And what were two talking animals and three children doing in the middle in the jungle anyway?

"Blasted gorillas! I'll hunt down every last one of them!" He promised vehemently to himself. "I'll track them down somehow; I'll stake my life on it."

He took out a pipe, intending to smoke out his frustrations. However he heard noises from within the trees, and he instantly aimed his shotgun in defense. He fired it and ran off in the direction of the shot.

* * *

"Huh? What was that?" Sarina asked in fear.

"A gunshot! Clayton is shooting again!" May concluded. She ran out the tent…only to meet the eyes of Sabor.

May completely froze in a combination of shock and fear. The leopard roared and leaped on her, making her yelp in fright. The leopard opened its jaws wide, and May saw her life flash by.

A spear flew by, and slashed the side of Sabor's body. It roared in pain, and glared in the direction of her attacker.

Tarzan threw his body down on the leopard, and the two began to viciously fight. May stood up and latched on to the nearest person available, which so happened to be Sora. He blushed heavily at the contact.

The two opponents exchanged slashes, bites, and scratches. The leopard flipped over and tried to bite down on the wild man's face, but Tarzan quickly pushed her off. He reached for his spear and slammed it into Sabor's side, impaling her. The leopard's eyes rolled back, and she slumped onto the ground, dead.

Tarzan shakily rose and pulled his spear out of her corpse. He looked at her lifeless body and frowned, not knowing what to make of the situation. May walked over to him and squeezed his arm.

"Thanks," she said in a small voice. Tarzan nodded at her. Sarina ran and nearly tackled May to the ground with a hug. Sarina was crying profusely as she almost witnessed her sister dying a violent death.

"Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you-"

"I'm fine, Rini. Please calm down," May ordered gently. Sarina promptly quieted down.

"Let's, um, go," Sora said awkwardly. He never thought he'd actually witnessed an animal being killed. The group continued onto the Hippo Lagoon.

Jane was doing a sketch of Tarzan when Terk busted into the tent and leaped into her arms. The English woman tried to soothe the ape, but the ape was trembling, as if running from something.

That something was Clayton, who marched in and pointed his shotgun at the two of them. Outside, heartless resembling monkeys was wreaking havoc around the camp.

Clayton smiled cruelly at them.

* * *

Nowhere in the surrounding jungle areas was Clayton spotted. However annoying monkey heartless was showing up rapidly. The weird part was that these specific ones seemed to have genders. The male one was bigger and more aggressive while the female ones dropped banana peels and stayed back.

On the way, several gorillas were locked in cages, cluing in the twins as to what happened.

As they re-entered the camp, they noticed something was amiss.

"Where did Jane go?" Sora asked. They searched all over the camp but found no traces of her.

"We need to go back," May replied.

They climbed all the way up to the treetops, where Jane was tied to a tree while Terk was locked in a cage.

"Jane!" Tarzan cried out as he frantically tried to untie her. Donald took to melting Terk's cage open with his staff.

"What happened?" Sora said, worryingly. After she was untied, Jane rubbed her sore wrists. "Clayton came to the tent and that's the last thing I remember," she explained.

"Clayton?" Sora said in surprise.

"Gorillas trapped. Terk ran," Tarzan realized in horror. He rushed down to the Bamboo thicket in fear.

"We must help the gorillas!" Jane said.

"We will!" May answered while grabbing Sora's arm. "We stop to have him before it's too late!"

"You guys free him! We'll track down Clayton!" May ordered to Sarina, Donald, and Goofy. The three nodded and looked to Jane for confirmation. She had a determined look on her face. "Let's do this."

* * *

Several gorillas backed into a corner in horror as Clayton pointed his gun at them. An entire row of Heartless danced around in front of him, eager to attack. At the center of the group stood Kala, who looked at him fearfully. Kerchak roared, catching Clayton's attention. The man simply turned his gun towards the large ape, ready to pull the trigger.

"NO!" Sora called out, drawing out his keyblade. Tarzan and May ran up behind him, May baring her keyblade. Tarzan's parents quickly ran off to safety, which shocked May to core, considering that Kerchak was supposed to be dead at this point, or something similar (she had finally noticed that several events and characters were completely absent, specifically Jane's father).

"Clayton!" Sora called out angrily.

"Clayton!" Tarzan repeated. He repeated the same strange words he said to Sora and May earlier. "Not Clayton!"

Clayton growled deeply as his body became shrouded by dark tendrils. He cocked his shotgun towards them, with his finger on the trigger. May smiled nervously.

"Come on, dude," she pleaded, "You wouldn't shoot up kids, would ya?"

A bullet zipped past, narrowly missing her and answering her question.

The heartless in the area went completely bananas and was wildly attacking them now. The males were throwing strong punches at May, which led her to continuously hold up her keyblade in defense. One of the female ones was chomping down on her leg, leading her to shake her leg in an attempt to fight her off. Another one leaped onto her face and started pounding on it.

"ARGH!" She yelled out in pain. She stumbled and slipped on a banana peel left by another heartless. "HELP!"

Sora was too busy dodging bullets from a bloodthirsty Clayton to respond. The man was hellbent on killing him and Tarzan, who was trying to strike at him with his spear.

"DIE!" The man roared as he reloaded his gun and fired more bullets rapidly. Sora felt one bullet go past one of the spikes on his hair, and he recoiled. Seeing one of his friends in mortal peril, Tarzan suddenly grew bold and leaped onto Clayton, knocking the man onto the ground. They rolled around on the ground, with Clayton repeatedly attempting to beat Tarzan in the head with his gun.

May sliced the last heartless of her body and was now sporting bruises and slash marks all over her body. She called the heartless all kinds of swear words in her mind; she would have preferred a zombie apocalypse to this situation. At least zombies couldn't think! At the rest of the heartless, she angrily destroyed them all with thunder spells, which conveniently activated at the right time. 'Or not. It would have been real nice to learn Thunder when those monkeys were pounding on me…or when I when I was getting my ass beat whooped by Cerberus,' she thought bitterly. If only Donald, Goofy, and Sarina weren't helping Jane with freeing the rest of the gorillas…

She spotted a thoroughly beaten Clayton running into the Bamboo Thicket, with Sora and Tarzan hot on his heels. She took a brief moment to crack her knuckles menacingly. She summoned her keyblade back, and she followed them out into the Thicket.

Clayton stopped in front of a large wall made of rock. Sora, Tarzan, and May caught up to him.

"Just give it up, man!" May said in exasperation, "You still have a chance to get out of this alive!"

Clayton smirked evilly as the wall suddenly exploded, revealing a much more beautiful part of the jungle. May would have appreciated it weren't for the fact that a wall had just exploded out of nowhere. Tarzan let out a battle cry and charged towards Clayton, only to be knocked back by an invisible force. _'HUH?'_ May and Sora thought at the same time. Then Clayton started to seemingly levitate in the air, sending off severe alarm signals in their heads.

The real shock then revealed itself. A large heartless resembling a chameleon materialized from underneath Clayton. Its body was light green, covered in black intricate markings, had a tan underbelly, had large orange and yellow eyes, and had a white horn on top of its head.

It then turned invisible, making Sora and May gasp. Suddenly, May was smacked into a nearby tree.

"It turns invisible?" Sora asked in horror. A dark glow wrapped itself around Clayton's body, and suddenly his bruises and scars disappeared, leaving him completely healed.

"Oh come on! What the hell?" Sora complained in anger.

While recovering, May tried to jump up and knock Clayton off the heartless, but it clawed at her with such force she made a dent into the ground. She felt her eyes watering up at the stinging pain that clouded her face. She reached into her pocket to grab a potion. She brought it up to her lips to chug it down, only for Clayton to shoot it right out of her hands from the side.

"No fair!" She yelled, glaring violently. Clayton chuckled loudly.

"Sorry dear, there's no rules in a fight," he mocked. He aimed his gun at her head. Before he could pull the trigger, Tarzan leaped onto him, and knocked him off the heartless. Tarzan swung widely on the man with Clayton fending him off with his shotgun.

The heartless became visible, and lowered its head. It charged towards Tarzan with the intent to kill.

"Oh no you don't!" Sora barked. He lifted his keyblade into the air and released Thunder, shocking it in place. It turned towards him and shot laser beams at him, sending him flying into a nearby tree. Tarzan ran up to the heartless' back in an attempt to impale it with his spear, but the heartless quickly smacked him away with its tail without even looking at him. Clayton opened up a potion and chugged it down quickly, regaining his health. He crawled on top of the heartless and started shooting up again, this time at May who was trying to get through to him.

"Look man," she dodged a bullet, "The heartless," she ducked, "Are controlling you," she leaped to the side to dodge another shot, "You can still—," she narrowly avoided getting shot in the head, "HOW MANY DAMN BULLETS DO YOU HAVE? YOU MUST FIRED AT LEAST FIFTY FREAKING SHOTS ALREADY! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU NOT RELOADING?"

* * *

"That's the last one!" Sarina announced as she freed the last gorilla. Her ears perked up at the sound of screaming coming from the Bamboo thicket. _'May!'_

The gorillas around them began to roar, banging on their chests with their fists. They all began to charge in the direction of the thicket.

"What are they going?" Goofy asked.

"They're going to help them," Jane replied. Terk threw Donald on top of her back and ran off with him.

"Stay here," Sarina warned the english woman.

* * *

For the fifth time, Clayton had chugged down another potion. All previous bruises had disappeared. The heartless had also taken to turning invisible and carrying Clayton off to a safer place.

"He won't go down!" May complained in annoyance. Every time the hunter looked finally ready to pass out, the stupid heartless would carry him off to safety so that he could heal. And if any of them would try to attack him, the thing would either claw them or fire laser beams from its eyes.

If they tried to attack the heartless, Clayton would shoot at them. The man must have shot at them a hundred times by now.

"Clayton, please!" Tarzan cried out in sorrow.

"Kill them," Clayton whispered into the heartless' ear. When Tarzan ran towards the back of the lizard's body, it kicked its legs out, sending Tarzan flying back several feet. It turned visible and clasped its hands together, releasing an energy wave that knocked Sora and May to the floor.

May reached in her pockets to find a potion only to remember that Clayton shot all hers up. 'Darn…'

She looked over to Sora, who was starting to panic. "I ran out of potions!" He yelled. Tarzan lay unconscious in a corner.

Clayton cocked his rifle towards them. "For children you put up a good fight but I'm afraid that this is the end," Clayton lamented mockingly.

He put his finger on the trigger and was ready to pull…and got smacked in the face with a piece of fruit, not only throwing him off guard but also knocking him off the heartless.

"Huh?" He exclaimed loudly as he rubbed the splattered pieces of fruit off his face. He stood up and waved his gun around wildly…and another piece of large fruit quickly flew down and knocked it out of his hands. "What?"

The other gorillas in the jungle made their grand appearance, roaring and banging on their fists. Clayton tried to reach for his gun, but a certain brown substance ended up splattered on his hands, arms, and hair. He paled at the sight.

"Gross," Sora blanched while May snickered.

The chameleon heartless' eyes glowed, intended to shoot off lasers. But Donald made his appearance by jumping of Terk's back and casting a fireball in its face. As he landed, he casted Cure on Sora, healing the brunette of his bruises.

"Donald!" He rejoiced. He then realized that he was supposed to be mad at the court wizard. "Donald," he repeated with less emotion.

Goofy landed on the ground with Sarina on his back. The younger twin hopped off and casted a Cure spell on Tarzan, reviving him. Upon awakening, Tarzan quickly grabbed his spear.

Goofy reached into his pocket and tossed a Hi-Potion towards May, who drank the entire large jar within seconds. Although it was gross and tasted like cough syrup, it did a miracle on her body. She felt energy flow through her body again.

The gorillas in the area cheered them on, with Kerchak and Kala at the front of the pack, looking on silently.

Clayton growled at the group as he picked up his shotgun. "You imbeciles think you will win?"

"Of course!" May responded cheerfully, "How can we not by doing this?" She pointed towards Tarzan, who threw his spear like a lance at the heartless' chest, which impaled it. The heartless began firing beams at the group in a panic. Luckily, Goofy stepped in to block it with his shield, reflecting the attack right back at the creature. It stumbled and turned invisible again, but to its misfortune the spear in its chest was completely visible.

"THUNDER!" Donald, Sarina, and Sora called out at the same time. The effect was something akin to a minor thunderstorm as several lightning bolts rained down and severely electrocuting the giant heartless.

"Fire!" May yelled as she fired a ball of flame towards its body. And the effect was glorious; it caught on fire.

"NO!" Clayton boomed. He angrily ran towards May, only to be knocked back by her keyblade, which she chucked at him. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Sorry," she said in sarcastic regret.

The heartless was now running around the field, trying to extinguish the flames burning up its body. It was now activating and deactivating its invisibility on and off, like a light switch. The spear in its chest was not helping matters, only increasing the severe pain.

"Blizzard!" Sarina yelled out as she released the spell from her keyblade. The spell completely encased the heartless, stopping it in its tracks. Goofy threw his shield at the block of ice, shattering it and making the heartless stumble around. The rest of the group, minus Tarzan, raised their weapons into the sky.

"THUNDER!" They boomed again, aiming the attack directly towards the heartless' head. The heartless twitched violently with sparks shooting off its body.

Clayton stirred awake. He looked and saw to his horror, the heartless dying. He glared murderously at the group and cocked his rifle towards them. However before he pulled the trigger, he looked up to see the heartless falling down towards him.

"NO!" He screamed as the heartless crushed him under its weight, instantly killing him. The both of them disappeared in a flash of light, and a large heart floated upwards.

Even though he was a cruel man, the group felt large amounts of pity towards the hunter. It was obvious that the heartless was simply using him instead of the other way around.

Kerchak crawled towards the group. He silently looked at Sora before grabbing him and tossing him high up on a ledge.

"Wha—," May started before Kerchak grabbed her and chucked her up the high ledge as well. He then grabbed Sarina, who attempted to run away. He threw her towards the ledge.

Ignoring Donald and Goofy's confused facial expressions; he repeated the process with them. Tarzan leaped up the ledge with ease; he had a feeling where Kerchak was directing them too.

* * *

"Woah," Sora gaped in amazement. Not too far from the group was a large waterfall.

"That's awesome," May added, eyes widening. Tarzan crawled next to them.

"Tarzan, home," he said. He led into the cavern leading towards the waterfall.

Throughout the walk, the twins couldn't help but look around the cavern with gaped mouths and widened eyes. May reached to touch the falling waters. The water was clear and pure.

"My island has a large waterfall," Sora said, trying to impress her, "When you see it, you'll be amazed too." She only nodded in agreement. Sora frowned.

Tarzan leaped on several ledges, signaling the group to follow him up. On one ledge, another chest with three Dalmatians pups sat on it. At the top, there was an entrance to a secret cove.

When they were inside, they looked at a tree which was radiating a strong blue light. Jane and Terk walked up to them. Tarzan repeated the same confusing word again, but this time Sora was able to decipher what he was saying. This was Tarzan's home. Sora tilted his head at the man.

"This is your home, but that means—," Tarzan held out a hand to stop his speech. Tarzan then reached behind his ears as if trying to hear something.

Jane reacted the same way. "The waterfalls—they're echoing all the way here."

Everyone took the time to listen and found that she was telling the truth. Tarzan began to speak in gorilla, but then converted his speech to English.

"Friends there," he explained, "See friends."

Jane clasped her hands in realization. "Oh now I got it," she repeated the word, "It means heart. Friends in our heart."

"Heart," Tarzan repeated. Sora frowned in disappointment.

"Oh, so that's what it meant." May rubbed his shoulder. "Well, it is true isn't it? As long as you hold on to the memory of your friends; you'll never be truly far away from them," she tried to soothe. He turned away, pouting.

"Friends, same heart," Tarzan said firmly, "Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends. No heart, no friends." He looked at Sora, Donald, and May pointedly. The three of them looked down in shame at the implication of his words.

"Sorry about what I said," Sora apologized to Donald, turning to face him and rubbing his head. May rubbed her arm awkwardly. "Yeah, dude. I'm sorry too. Your weapons don't suck and we need you."

"I'm sorry too," Donald replied to the both of them.

"Let's put this behind us, okay? No more fighting. We came together or a reason and became one. We can beat the Heartless and find our loved ones only if we stick together, guys," May said.

"Yeah," Goofy agreed, "All for one, huh?" He pulled the entire group into a hug, with them smiling warmly in return. Noticing the blue light radiating more than ever, Sora walked up to it as if in a trance.

The blue light was actually made up of butterflies, which quickly fluttered round the group. Serena smiled softly at the beauty of it. A butterfly landed on May's nose, and she swatted at it.

"May," Sarina scolded lightly.

"What? I don't like them," the older twin responded. A large black keyhole formed, and Sora summoned his keyblade and aimed it at the keyhole. A beam shot forth and sealed the hole, letting out a gummi block.

"A gummi!" Donald called out.

"But it's sure not the king's," Goofy frowned.

Terk rubbed up on Donald and batted her eyelashes suggestively at him. Sora and May smirked while Jane smiled teasingly. "I think someone has a new admirer."

Donald held his hands up in a panic. "No,no,no,no! Daisy would kill me!"

Everybody else in the cove laughed.

* * *

Back at Disney Castle, the ladies were having their daily sewing session. The queen and Daisy's nieces were sitting in a corner, bored out of their minds. Queen Minnie was chatting happily with Clarabelle when Daisy suddenly dropped her needle and hissed.

"What's wrong?" The queen asked in concern. The female duck balled her fists tightly.

"Donald was with another woman," she spat out. "I'm going to kill him!" She glared pointedly at Clarabelle, who was about to open her mouth. "And don't you dare spread this around the castle!"

"How do you know?" The queen said in confusion. Smoke came out of Daisy's ears. "I know, okay? He's a dead duck! Dead, dead, DEAD!"

Donald was going to be in big trouble when he gets home.

* * *

In a room in a dark castle, the group of villains looked in a dark crystal ball.

"What drew the heartless to that world?" The man with the elegant voice spoke. He, like the rest of them, stood in the shadows.

"The hunter lured them there," The witch answered, "It was his lust for power that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good.

The burlap sack with the obnoxious voice cackled. "Yeah, he got chomped instead!"

The man with the elegant voice stepped out, revealing himself to be a dark-skinned, thin, and bony man dressed in dark, extravagant clothing. He carried a gold and ruby, cobra shaped scepter.

"A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the heartless," he sneered, "But the children are a problem. They found one of the keyholes."

"Fear not," the fairy with spoke, "It will take them ages to find the rest."

The group appeared in the ball. "Besides, they, especially that boy, remain blissfully unaware of our other plan."

"Yesss…," the Cecelia sneered, "The princesses." The fairy witch smirked.

"They are falling into our hands one by one." Some have even been captured ten years ago, in the cases of Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora. "Speaking of which…."

Alice appeared in the hologram, fearful.

* * *

After leaving the world, the gummi ship was sailing through space once again.

"Come on….," Sora whined, reaching for the handle.

"No!" Donald barked, "Stop it!"

"But I'm a keyblade master!" Sora pouted. "Let me be the pilot!" He wished May was awake so that she could back him up.

"I don't care who you are! No!" the court wizard spat.

"Here we go again," Goofy sighed. It was like their musketeer years all over again, except instead of a more aggressive and rough Mickey fighting with Donald, it was Sora. The more Goofy got to see of Sora, the more he saw his king in him.

He clung onto a nearby chair in fright as they once again began fighting over control of the ship. The twins slept soundly in their chairs, not disturbed by the rapidly shaking ship.

"Okay, fine," Donald snapped, "I'll let you pilot this time!"

Sora beamed brightly. "Awesome! I can't wait to show how great my piloting skills are," he boasted arrogantly as he got into the pilot's seat. Piloting a ship was like steering a boat, right?

He crashed the ship on a meteor near Traverse Town an hour later.


	6. Reunion

A/N: To the lovely AnimeQueen82, yes this did use to be called Adventure but this is like my third revision of this story and it needed a better title XD. And while Sarina won't be an OC for Riku, they will have a bond in the future.

* * *

"Thanks, Cid!" Yuffie said to Cid as she walked out of the Accessory Shop. She was carrying two bags worth of items.

The world exit opened up and the group walked in, charred up and covered in soot. "Huh?"

Sora's normally spiky hair was burned up and frizzed out. He looked like he was in a daze of sorts. May walked beside him with her hair puffed up. She was covered in soot. Sarina staggered as she walked, holding onto Goofy.

Donald walked next to Sora, scolding him harshly. "Are you blind? You crashed the ship into a effin' meteor! What the hell is wrong with you? You ain't never touching the controls again in my lifetime! Never!"

Sora said nothing in shame. He simply held his head down in response.

"Hey Yuffie!" May waved but then held her arm in pain.

"Um, do you guys need to go the infirmary?" Yuffie said awkwardly.

"Probably."

Sarina winced as Goofy passed out into the ground.

* * *

"So, Leon is training in a secret waterway?" Sora said as they walked out of the medical facility, now fully healed.

"Yup," Yuffie nodded, "He trains there every day. Go through an alleyway in the Second District, and you find it."

May rubbed her hands up and down gleefully. "Awesome. We needed to see him anyway."

Along the way to the alleyway, they freed more puppies, and encountered small, green flying heartless that was similar to Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsodies. Unlike its fellow flying buddies, the Green Requiem did not fight but opted to heal its allies instead, prolonging the fight. Needless to say, the group focused on killing them first.

Indeed, Leon was training with his gun blade in his waterways when they found him. However his jacket was on the ground, and he was wearing his white shirt which was filled with sweat. May wanted to drool at the sight. _'Wow, he's kinda hot.'_ She didn't notice Sora's annoyed facial expression. May composed herself and spoke up.

"Leon," May spoke, "We went to three other worlds, two of them had keyholes in them, and Sora and I sealed them."

"So you found the keyhole," Leon responded, setting down his blade.

"Yeah," Sora said, "The keyblade locked it automatically."

"Good," Aerith said, walking in from another entrance. She was carrying a tray of beverages which she made herself. She handed each of the group a beverage.

"Thanks," Sora said as he and May took a sip. They then spat the drink out.

"What's in that?" May sputtered as she began to cough violently. Sarina, Donald, and Goofy put their drinks back on the tray in fear.

"Oh, I put maple syrup in the soda to give it a more sweet taste," Aerith said awkwardly, "You don't like it?"

Leon looked at her blankly. "You put maple syrup in soda?"

She shrugged. "I thought it tasted great when I had it."

The older brunette shook his head. Aerith had a very bad habit of experimenting with the food and drinks she made. "Anyway, every world among the stars has a keyhole, and each one leads to the heart of that world. There must be one in this town as well," he concluded.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked after patting May on the back. She had tears in her eyes from the coughing fit.

"It was in Ansem's report," the woman answered.

"The Heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world's core," Leon added.

"What happens to the world?" Sora asked again.

"In the end, it just disappears," Aerith replied.

"WHAT?" The group collectively yelled.

"Does that mean that billions of people are dead?" May said in horror. All of her family, teachers, and other loved ones are dead?

"More like in a state of permanent sleep," Leon explained, "When their world is destroyed, they remain deep in stasis until their world is saved," he looked at the trio of teens, "That's why your keys are so important."

"Please lock the keyholes," Aerith requested, 'You're the only ones who can." The group could only nod glumly.

"I don't know…," Sora said, unsure of himself.

"We can do it," May told him in confidence.

"Seeing other worlds would probably serve you guys well," Leon added.

"Yeah!" Donald agreed, looking up at Sora.

"We gotta find your friends and King Mickey!" Goofy said.

"And we have to save the rest of the worlds, including ours," May pleaded with the boy.

"I guess so," he frowned, "Okay!"

They went towards the entrance with the steps. Donald suddenly stopped.

"But what about Cid?" Donald asked.

"What about him?" May responded, looking at him. Donald folded his arms. "We need to buy supplies for our journey. We're running out of them."

"Oh," she frowned.

"Cid actually knows a lot about airships," Leon spoke as he polished his blade, "You can go and ask him about gummi pieces and the like."

"I guess we're off to the Accessory Shop," Sora said, more cheerful than before.

"Take this," Leon said, handing him a green stone, "I found it lying around. Merlin might know something about it."

"Merlin?" May asked, immediately thinking of the one from _The Sword and The Stone_. After all, since it was only Disney characters that were being encountered...

"Yes, he is a great wizard from our homeworld who came with the rest of us when it was taken over by heartless," Leon explained. "But first, go to Cid."

* * *

"Well, if it ain't a gummi block," Cid said as he observed the part.

"Yup," Donald said.

"What's it for?" Goofy asked the man. Cid raised his eyebrow in disbelief.

"You kidding me? You're flying a gummi ship and you know nothin' about navigation gummis?"

"…Are we supposed to?" May inquired. He scoffed.

"Bunch of pinheads. Interspace ain't no playground."

Sora folded his arms in annoyance. "There's a lot we don't know. So what? We have to use the gummi ship to go to different worlds. We don't have a choice."

"Woah, easy," Cid rubbed his head, "I didn't know. No hard feelings, all right?"

 _'For a cheery kid, he has quite the temper,'_ May noted in her mind. She found it slightly amusing. And slightly hot. Not that she would ever let him know that on purpose.

Cid continued to talk. "Well, I guess I could lend y'all a hand, then."

"Thanks," Sora smiled.

"Basically with navigation gummis, you can go to new places. You want one on your ship, right?"

All five of them nodded.

"Then I'll install it for you…"

A loud bell rang, shaking up the store and causing everybody to stumble.

"Wh-what was that?" Sora said nervously.

"Hmm? The bell at the gizmo shop is ringing," Cid answered as if he was announcing the weather.

"You have a bell that causes mini tremors?" May asked and listened closely to the bell chimes, "And sounds like it comes from a horror movie?"

"You can check it out if you want but I got this thing that gotta be delivered first," Cid replied.

"What do you have to get delivered?" Donald asked. From underneath his desk, Cid pulled out a large, worn-looking book that was brown in color.

"Just this book. It's real old. When the guy brought it in, it was practically falling apart. Too beat to restore it the way it was. But overall, I did a decent job puttin' it back together. Anyway, you mind deliverin' it for me? It's the old house past the Third District. Look for a big fire sign."

May took the book from him. When she read the title of it, she did a double take.

' _The 100 Acre Wood? That's Winnie The Pooh!'_

* * *

Merlin's Home was located on a small island in a cave. They had to jump on rocks to get to the island, or else they had to swim. The house was shaped like a wizard's hat, colored in pink and purple.

May knocked the door of the house, which was covered with a large magenta drap. No one answered. "Alrighty then, let's see if there's another way in or something." The group walked around to the side of the house where a smaller door was, covered with a green drape. Lifting up the drape, they entered the house one by one.

The room they entered was dark and empty, the walls and floor made by cobblestone.

"There's something about this musty place…" a familiar voice that only Sora could hear said. The boy turned around rapidly. "Huh?"

Kairi appeared from within the shadows. There seemed to be nothing wrong with her and she had a curious look on her face. "It reminds me of the Secret Place back home where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?" she continued as she walked around the room. Sora couldn't believe it. Was this truly Kairi? Did she find him by herself?

He reached out for her. He needed to feel her touch or else she was not real. "Kairi?"

"Babyface?" May asked worriedly. "What are you reaching out for?"

"Kairi! She's over there!" Sora yelled out, looking at May. However, when he turned back to Kairi, she was not there. "But...but,"

"I know you miss her, but don't go crazy on me. Okay?" May said to him in a soothing voice. He was starting to miss his loved ones so much that he was hallucinate them. How long before her or Rini go down the same path?

"I saw her I swear…," Sora mumbled to himself.

"Well, well. You've arrived sooner than I expected," Merlin the wizard said as he suddenly walked. To the twins, he appeared just as he did in the Sword and the Stone. He was short, wore a blue pointed hat and long blue robes, and his beard was long and silver. He was bespectacled and had a friendly face. Merlin was carrying a small brown suitcase.

"You knew we were coming?" Sora asked him in confusion.

"Of course!" Merlin replied cheerfully.

"Are you..are you a Heartless?"

"I think if he was, we would know," May replied to him, bemused.

"He doesn't look like one," Donald added, squinting his eyes. The older twin rolled her eyes.

The wizard tilted his head. "Oh, my. No. My name is Merlin. As you can see, I am a sorcerer. I spend much of my time traveling. It's good to be home," he then looked at Donald and Goofy, "Your King requested my help."

"King Mickey?" Donald asked him. Merlin nodded.

"Yes indeed. Donald, Goofy. And who might you be, children?"

"I'm Sora," Sora introduced himself.

"May," the older twin replied.

"Sarina," the younger twin said softly.

"Hmm, three keys. I thought there'd be only one," Merlin said. "Well you have found them."

"What did the King ask you to do?" Donald inquired.

Before he answered, Merlin opened up his suitcase and pulled out his long, brown wand.. "Just a moment…"

"Presto!" He explained and casted a spell on the case. Golden sparkles shimmered for a moment before furniture started to float outside the bag. Sofas, clocks, tables, closets, and shelves were some of the more obvious ones. They each grew in a size that would be impossible to fit in a suitcase without magic.

The room then exploded into a mass of bright colors. The walls were now purple and now the place really looked like a home.

Everyone was amazed, but none as much as Sarina, who wondered if she could be powerful to do this one day.

To Merlin, this was nothing truly special as he did this everyday. But he appreciated the awe he was getting nonetheless. "There now. Ahem. The King asked me to train you in the art of magic. We can start anytime you like."

Sora and May looked at each other excitedly. Trained in the art of magic by a legendary wizard? A great opportunity.

"Cool!" The brunette said.

"Sweet. What could go wrong?"

* * *

An hour later, Sora and May were covered in soot while Sarina was untouched. Both teens were pissed off.

"Well magic takes a lot longer to master than a sword for some," Merlin said while smiling awkwardly. He smiled at Sarina. "However, young lady, I can tell you will be quite a fine mage one day. I can take you on as an apprentice when the time calls for it."

Sarina dropped her mouth open in shock. She rarely got complimented by anyone other than family. "Th-thank you, sir." Despite the painful burns she was feeling, May gave her a twin an encouraging grin. She then took out the book.

"We have a book to deliver to you," she said.

"Oh, that book…," Merlin observed as May handed the 100 Acre Wood to him, "So Cid asked you to bring this. Thank you."

"So what is it?" Sora asked him.

"You wished to know what kind of book it is?" The wizard inquired. _'It's a book about a teddy bear who likes to eat out of hunny pots,'_ May thought to herself. Now she thought about it, considering the large amount of Winnie The Pooh merchandise her father held in a vault, she shouldn't have scoffed at Cid for holding _The 100 Acre Wood_.

"I don't even know, myself," Merlin responded honestly, "In fact, it's not mine."

"Really?" May asked. He nodded. "Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. It was such a curious book that I asked Cid to repair it for me." He rubbed his thumbs over the cover, "Well, I guess I'll put it here somewhere, for now. This book holds a great secret. The missing pages will unlock it."

"The pages are missing?" Sarina inquired. The wizard nodded. "You will have to find them."

"Like the puppies?" May said.

"Yes," the wizard responded, "I'll leave the book over there," he pointed to a brown stand, "Do look at it whenever you like. My best regards to Cid for repairing it for me."

Sora pulled out the stone Leon gave him earlier. "Umm, do you know about this?"

The wizard looked closely at it. "Hmm…no. Sorry. But the Fairy Godmother most certainly does." He went over to the other side of the room to work on something.

"Fairy Godmother?" May asked, immediately thinking of the one in _Cinderella_.

"Who's that?" Sora inquired in confusion.

"A fairy godmother is a fairy that is bonded to a young maiden and grants her every wish," Merlin explained as he casted a spell over a white carriage.

The white carriage glowed, and an elderly woman dressed in purple robes appeared. She had a warm, maternal face.

"Why hello there! I didn't know we would be receiving visitors today!" The fairy greeted.

"Hello Fairy Godmother, we have a stone for you to see," May said as Sora pulled it out of his pocket.

"Do you know what this is?" Sora asked the woman. The fairy looked at the stone and gasped.

"Oh the poor thing!" She exclaimed, taking the stone from Sora's hands. The group looked at her with confused looks on their faces.

"He has turned into a summon gem," she explained.

"A summon gem?" Sora repeated.

"This little creature lived in a world that was consumed by darkness. When a world vanishes, so does its inhabitants. But this one had such a strong heart; he became a gem instead of vanishing with his world."

"Can he regain himself?"

"Only his spirit. Now watch! Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo!" The fairy godmother waved her wand around, and a bright white light encircled the group. When the light dissipated, so did the stone. The fairy clasped her hands happily.

"He is now a summon. Whenever you call him, he will help you. If you find any more of these, please bring them to me."

"Will 'he' ever get restored?" May asked. She didn't know who "he" was. She didn't understand how Fairy Godmother even knew that it was a he.

"Don't worry, when their worlds are restored they will return there," the fairy reassured, "Please help save them."

"Don't worry, we will," Sora spoke up.

"Pardon me, if I may ask Fairy Godmother, but where is Cinderella?" May asked.

Fairy Godmother's face turned pained at the question. "She was kidnapped, ten years ago, by the heartless. They were lead by a dark fairy of sorts. Our world was destroyed by the heartless in the 's how I ended up here in Traverse Town."

"Oh my...I'm sorry to hear that," May replied with wide eyes. Could Cinderella been taken by the same person that have kidnapped Alice as well?

Fairy Godmother's eyes glazed with tears. "I was supposed to protect her, but I have failed."

* * *

"I wonder who this dark fairy is," Sora said as they entered the third district from the alleyway.

The twins had a strong idea who it was, and the idea chilled them to the core.

"Hopefully not who I'm thinking," May mumbled to herself, but Sora overhead.

"Who are you th-AHH!"

A Soldier suddenly hopped onto Sora's back.

The rest of the group looked at the scene in shock. May summoned her keyblade to attack the heartless, but before she could do it, somebody sliced it up for her. Sora looked to face his sudden savior, and widened his eyes and dropped his mouth open when he saw who it was.

"Don't be spacin' out like that, Sora. It's pathetic. I thought I taught you better than—,"

"RIKU!" Sora cried out to the male in front of him. He reached over and grabbed his friend's cheeks and pulled at them. Riku slapped his hands away.

"What the hell do you think you're doin', dumbass?"

"Whoa! It really is you, Riku!" Sora rejoiced.

"That's Riku?" May whispered to Sarina.

"He's very…muscular," the younger twin noted. _'Attractive,'_ is what she really wanted to say. She had never seen a boy with natural silver hair, but it suited him. Suited him very much.

May walked up and placed her hand on Sora's shoulder. "You're Babyface's best friend?"

"Babyface?" Riku repeated in confusion.

"It's what I call him," May responded while pinching Sora's cheek, " 'Cause he got the face of a baby. Don't you see it?"

"Cut it out!" Sora barked, swatting her hand away. Riku's eyes widened in realization at her remark. He smirked at Sora.

"You do….man you do! Why didn't I think of that?" The silver haired teen began to laugh, aggravating Sora.

"I do not have a baby face!" The brunet protested.

"Dude, you look like you're twelve!" Riku teased. The brunet poked his lip out.

"Aww, we're just messing with you!" May comforted as she rubbed his shoulder, dropping the teasing act quickly.

"Whatever," Sora replied, irritated. Then something popped into his mind. "Wait a minute. Where's Kairi?"

"I thought she was with you?" The silver-haired male replied as they walked towards another entrance. Sora held his head down in sadness.

"Your face will stay like that if you do that long enough, y'know?" Riku warned jokingly. "Just look on the bright side. We've gotten to the outside world. We're free to go whatever we want, and ain't nobody stoppin' us."

 _'Okay this kid is starting to creep me out,'_ May thought, _'Shouldn't he be worried about the fact that he separated from his family, his friends, his world? Why isn't he worried about that?'_

She thought about the weapon he used to destroy the heartless that was attacking Sora. It was a red, purple, and blue. It was a falchion-esque sword shaped like a demonic wing. On the handle was a creepy blue eyeball, and the handle was made of dark braids. _'Where did he get that weapon from? Satan?'_ She didn't forget that the blade was surrounded by dark puffs of smoke as well, like Clayton was.

"Don't worry; I'm sure we'll find Kairi in no time. Don't worry, just leave everything to me," Riku boasted, "With me around, you'll—,"

He watched in shock as Sora quickly and effortlessly destroyed two Soldiers behind him with his keyblade. Sora turned around and smiled arrogantly at him. "Leave it to who?"

Riku walked up to him. "Sora, what did you—,"

"I've been looking for you and Kairi too with their help," Sora said, gesturing to the rest of the party. Donald stood up straight and puffed his chest out.

"Ahem. My name is—,"

"We've visited so many places and worlds, looking for you," Sora cut the duck off, making the court wizard boil in anger. How dare that boy?

"I'm May and that girl over there is my twin Sarina," the older twin introduced cheerfully. Sarina waved shyly from over where she was standing.

We've experienced a lot together," Sora added, smiling briefly at May.

"Really? Well what do you know?" Riku said, beginning to feel jealousy creep up in his veins. "I never would have guessed."

Not noticing the silver-haired boy's mood changing, Goofy put his hands on Sora's shoulders. "And guess what? The three of them are keyblade masters."

"Who would have thought it?" Donald said sarcastically, directing the statement more at Sora and May than Sarina.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora and May said the same time. They balled their fists up at the duck, who glared right back.

"So this is the keyblade?" Riku asked, picking Sora's keyblade up.

"Huh?" Sora replied, looking at Riku in confusion. "Hey, give it back!"

He tried to reach for it, but Riku stepped back just in time, and Sora fell flat on his face. May went to help him off the ground.

Riku observed the keyblade for a moment. "Here, catch." He threw the keyblade back in Sora's hands.

 _'How was he able to hold the keyblade for that long? I thought the keyblade only has one master?'_ May had to wonder. Sora shook his head, thinking the same.

"Okay, so, you're coming with us, right?" Sora hoped. "We got this awesome ship. Wait til' you see it!"

"You'll be well fed…if you like fruit," May added. When they left the jungle, Tarzan and Jane sent them off with a ton of fruit that Tarzan picked. Sarina loved it but May hated it; she couldn't stand fruit unless it was sour like lemons, green apples, or grapefruits.

"No, he can't come!" Donald rejected. Sora bent down angrily towards his level.

"Why not? He's my friend!" Sora protested.

"Didn't we just crash into a jungle over something like this?" May pointed out rhetorically.

"Forget it!" The court wizard shot back, and May nearly rolled her eyes.

"He's…my…FRIEND!" Sora repeated.

"I…don't…CARE!" Donald replied.

"What is wrong with the both of you? I thought we settled this argument in Deep Jungle?" May pointed out again, irritably.

Frowning at the ground, Goofy looked up and widened his eyes.

"He's gone!" He pointed out. Sora stopped bickering with the duck and searched around for his friend. "Riku?"

Riku was completely gone from the Third District as if he were never there. Sora gritted his teeth. "Nice going," he said angrily towards Donald without even looking at him.

"Yeah," May agreed, "I'm sure the King would be glad to know that you chased off the only connection a boy has to his world."

To her surprise, Sora quickly calmed down and placed his hands behind his head. "The idiot," he muttered and then smiled,"Oh well. At least he's okay. And who knows? Maybe we'll run into Kairi soon, too."

"You're right. You guys are going to be alright," May agreed.

"You guys see that small house up the steps?" Sarina asked the group. May looked over to where a large staircase was, leading to an upper level.

"Cid did say to meet him in a house in the third district."

* * *

"You guys ever hear of Maleficent?" Cid asked the group. Leon leaned against a wall.

"I heard that she's the mistress of all evil," May replied slyly, earning a warning look from Sarina. "What? He asked and I answered."

Cid nodded. "So you know what a vile creature she is. I hear she's in town."

"Really?" The older twin asked in slight fear. She didn't like to admit it but Maleficent scared the hell out of her as a kid. _"That dragon form…"_

"Who is she?" Sora asked in confusion at May's fearful mood.

"She's a witch, man, she's a witch!" Cid answered.

"She's the reason this town is full of heartless. Don't take her lightly." Leon added. May bit her lip, nervously. The Disney Villains were getting worse and worse. Can they even survive a battle against Maleficent, who can turn into a big ass dragon?

"She's been using the heartless for years," Aerith spoke up from the other side of the room.

"We lost our world, thanks to her," Leon recalled bitterly.

"One day, a swarm of heartless took over our world!" Cid explained, with Leon adding on that it was ten years ago,

"I got out of that mess and came here with these guys while they were still in pampers."

An awkward silence went through the air.

"Cid, I was twelve when this happened," Aerith corrected with a bemused look on her face.

"And I was fifteen," Leon said in annoyed tone of voice.

"And I was six!" Yuffie spoke up from her position on the bed.

"Yeah and? You kids looked and still look like babies to me," Cid shrugged, earning a groan from the three of them.

"That's awful!" Donald responded to their earlier statement.

"Your world's been overtaken by darkness for ten years?" Sarina said in horror. Could that happen to them?

"Our ruler was a wise man named Ansem. He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless," Leon spoke him.

"His reports should tell us how to get rid of the heartless," Cid huffed.

"Where's these reports?" Sora asked them.

"We don't know. They were all scattered when our world was destroyed," Leon answered.

"I'm sure Maleficent got most of the pages," Cid added.

 _'I hope not,'_ May thought in her mind.

* * *

"You see? It's just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions," Maleficent sneered as she and Riku observed the group chatting in the small house. Riku watched them with jealousy burning in his heart. Sora, his supposed best friend, had dumped him and Kairi for two animals and two sisters, one of them a basic female version of Sora. And he saw the looks Sora sent that other girl, wasn't Kairi the girl Sora said he cared about more than anything? Was he lying when he said that?

"Evidently, now he values them far more than he does you."

 _'He most certainly does,'_ Riku thought bitterly as he watched Sora and that other girl engage in some sort wrestling match on the floor with the rest of his party looking on and cheering. That's something that he and Sora did all the time and to think Sora would—

"You're better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him and come with me," the witch ordered, "I'll help you find what you're searching for."

Riku accepted her help. He didn't need Sora. He'll find Kairi all on his own; he was better suited for it anyway. Kairi needed someone who would be able to protect her at all costs. Sora was just a goof that would rather make new friends instead of saving his real ones. Riku honestly didn't understand what Kairi saw in Sora. _'I would be better for her. I would protect her and never even look at another girl.'_

Maleficent could not believe how easy it was to exploit the darkness in this boy. He unraveled so quickly it was as if he was unbaked clay. _'Such a foolish boy…'_

Now she had her own weapon against those children especially the boy Sora.

* * *

"So, you delivered that book?" Cid asked May. She nodded. "Good, that navigation gummi's installed and ready to go." Cid had worked on the gummi ship for a couple of hours while the group talked with Aerith and Leon about the worlds they visited. "Well, better get back to my real job."

"What's that?" May asked him.

"What's my real job? You'll see. See me at the third district." he grinned eagerly.

"I've been thinking about the bell in the Second District," Aerith spoke up.

"That one that rang a bit ago?" Sora responded.

"The one above the gizmo shop. There's a legend about it, you know," Yuffie explained.

"That it summons Cthulhu?" May asked sarcastically, remembering the bell's creepy chime.

"Who's that?" The young ninja asked in confusion.

"Some creepy monster from a book I've read as a kid," May replied, "Nobody important, at least I hope so."

"Regardless, it's all boarded up. Nobody can get in," Aerith said.

Cid shrugged. "Heck, go check it out. Ring it three times to see if anything happens."

"It's probably nothing," May shrugged. She walked outside, with Sarina following her.

Sora was about to follow them before Aerith stopped him.

"Wait!" He walked up to her.

"What's up?"

"At the colosseum, did you see a person with a big sword and pointy hair?" She asked him. _'Cloud….,'_ he thought immediately. He was the only person Sora had ever met with hair more pointy than his.

"Yeah."

Her expression turned from curious to thoughtful. "I wonder if he's still searching for him…," she said quietly to herself. She looked directly at him. "Hey Sora, if you see him, tell him not to do anything rash. He's not a sociable person, but if something happens to him, there'll be other people besides me who'll be sad." _'Especially Tifa, who's been searching for him for years…,'_ Aerith thought to herself.

"Okay," Sora said cheerfully. Even if Aerith didn't refer to him by name, Sora knew she was talking about Cloud. He wondered how she even knew Cloud. ' _Friends? Old Lovers? Who knows.'_

He heard a loud shout outside and promptly ran out the door. He summoned her keyblade in preparation to attack…only to see the twins talking to another girl. She was tall, with dark curly hair and had beige-colored skin.

"You're from Earth too?" May asked in excitement.

The girl had a strong look of relief on her face. "Yeah! I'm so glad that I'm not the only survivor here, and the only black person still alive."

"Where are you from?"

"The Bronx."

"I'm from Philly. I'm May."

"I'm Miranda."

Miranda's face then turned sad. "I guess our fate lies in those keyblade wielders. I hope they save our world. I don't think I can live here anymore. That Aerith girl cooks some nasty ass food."

"We'll save your world! We're the keyblade wielders!" May boasted confidently.

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "You guys are the legendary keyblade wielders? But you guys look younger than me!" She finally noticed Sora with his keyblade. "And that's the keyblade? It's just a giant key!"

"Hey!" Sora barked angrily. "I'll have you know that this giant key can shoot out fireballs, ice balls, and lightning bolts!"

"And we've already saved a couple worlds with these already," May added, "You got nothing to worry about."

Miranda frowned. "Well if you say so. I wish you guys good luck."

She turned and walked away.

Sora walked over and stood next to May.

"You know, now I think about it, waving around a giant key is pretty stupid."

"But we can shoot fireballs out of it."

"That we can."

* * *

"So this is the big scary bell?" May asked, looking at it. They went upwards through the gizmo shop and entered the top of the building, where they had to break open a sealed entrance to the bell. Sora and May grabbed the string underneath the bell and pulled down. The bell rang loudly, and for some reason the fountain down below rotated, revealing a colorful image.

"Cid said to ring it three times, right?" May asked.

"Yeah. I wondered what's going to happen?" Sora wondered. May shrugged and pulled the string down again, making the fountain rotate to reveal a green tree.

The group looked at the bell in anticipation. This was it, the final bell. Sora grabbed the rope and pulled down one last time.

The fountain rotated and revealed a keyhole.

"The keyhole!" Sora said as he summoned his keyblade. Before anyone could say anything, he jumped all the down from the roof and ran towards the fountain.

"We can do that?" May asked, "And still end up alive?"

Sora stopped at the fountain and observed it. He clutched his keyblade tightly and raised it, when suddenly a large tremor went through the entire district.

Guard Armor fell from the sky and landed with a loud slam, the shockwave knocking Sora unto his back.

"We-we destroyed you!" Sora said in shock. "Oh come on!" He heard May shout from the roof. He jumped back as Guard Armor spun its arms wildly. He countered by jumping up and slashing at its head. The large heartless winced and kicked Sora away in response.

The rest of the party had reached the opponents at this point, and Donald and Sarina began to shoot Fire at its torso. May along with Sora, who recovered from his attack, slashed at Guard Armor's feet. Goofy repeated blocked the heartless' swipes with his shield.

Eventually, the heartless fell apart into pieces.

"Wow, that…that was pretty easy," May said in relief.

"Yeah, too easy," Sora agreed, wiping at his forehead. Sarina looked at the heartless in confusion.

"Why isn't it disappearing?" She asked.

As if to answer her question, the heartless' body parts floated up into the air. The Guard Armor then began to reassemble itself in rather strange and twisted way. Its legs and arms flipped areas, where now the feet were its arms and its arms were its feet. Its torso was flipped upside down, and the helm snapped to reveal a black face and beady yellow arms.

"Oh for Christ's sake!" May spat in anger.

* * *

Miranda was starting to wonder if Traverse Town was really a safe place after all. She clutched onto the dining chair in fear for about ten minutes after the tremor hit. She heard the locals run from the second district, screaming "It's a giant heartless!"

 _'How is this supposed to be a refugee town if it's infested with these monsters?'_ The girl had to wonder. She knew that SOME heartless ran amok in the town; it's why Aerith and Leon advised her to stay in her room and lock the door. However this was beginning to get ridiculous. Like rats in a NYC subway, the heartless kept appearing no matter how many were killed. She thought about those kids that were supposed to be saving the worlds. _'I hope they're alright._ ' After all, none of them looked like they were even high school age. How could they even fight with oversized keys?

She felt another tremor shake through the area. Despite knowing it was a stupid idea, Miranda decided she wanted to get a closer look.

* * *

"STOP JUMPING AROUND!" May shouted as she ran after the torso of the large heartless, which was hopping around the field, causing shockwaves everywhere it went.

If switching its body parts around wasn't irritating, the Guard Armor's new form had a couple new moves as well, such as flying around the field like a rocket and slamming into them. They had already used nearly all of their potions on Donald, Goofy, and Sarina. Currently speaking of her twin, she was knocked out right now from the heartless attack along with Donald. As much as she wanted to cast cure on the both of them right now, she too busy trying not to get knocked out herself right now.

As she dodged another swing from the heartless' leg, she ran towards Sora, who along with Goofy was trying to land a hit on the heartless. "We need to end this battle quickly before we're dead."

"How are we—," Sora blocked a dark energy ball from the creature, "Going to do that?"

"Maybe we should each focus on each body part one by one like Guard Armor?" May suggested. She pulled Sora out of the way of another energy ball. They looked over to Donald and Sarina, knowing that they needed to heal them now.

The heartless chucked all its limbs at them, and they rolled out of the way. It then walked menacingly towards them, with its gauntlets circling towards them. They stepped back, until they found themselves back against a wall.

"Sora! Your pocket is glowing!" Goofy pointed out. Sora looked over to his side, where a green glow was shining. _'The gemstone!'_ He pulled out the greenstone, which was glowing brightly, almost blinding in its light. He remembered the instructions Fairy Godmother had given him: "He is now a summon. Whenever you call him, he will help you."

"Summon!" Sora bellowed.

The stone vibrated in Sora's hand, and a white light burst forth, making the three of them shut their eyes to block it out.

When it disappeared, a male lion appeared in front of them. His mane was rust colored and his body was yellow-orange.

"SIMBA?" May exclaimed in shock. _'So he was the one trapped in the stone?'_

The lion looked around the field in confusion. Wasn't he just in the Pride Lands? He looked at the heartless, which was wondering where he came from, and growled at the enemy. He let out a mighty roar, which sent back the heartless several inches and damaged its armor heavily.

"Cool!" May exclaimed gleefully. Who knew roaring could do that much damage? She ran over to Sarina and cured her while Sora did the same to Donald.

Sarina stirred awake, and watched the scene in front of her. "Is that Simba?"

"Who the hell is that?" Donald asked.

"He's the one in the summon gem," May explained.

Every time the heartless tried to unleash another attack, Simba quickly unleashed another vicious roar to defend himself. The heartless' gauntlets snapped off, and now the Guard Armor only had its head, torso, and legs to fight.

"Awesome!" Sora cheered as Simba disappeared back into the stone. Sora clutched the stone tightly. "Thank you," he whispered into it. Simba just did a great deal of damage to the heartless. Now it was time for them to finish this battle. "Fire!" He yelled, shooting a ball into the heartless' head, making it stumble back. It flew towards them in retaliation with intent to slam into them. Sarina and Donald, however, quickly froze its legs in order to stop them. The heartless stopped in place. Sora and May ran up and repeatedly slashed at the legs until they fell to the ground. The two teens enthusiastically hi fived each other.

Knowing that it was about to die, Guard Armor attempted one last strike. It reassembled itself into a rocket, and honed in on May.

A small gust of wind encircled May and as the heartless slammed into her, she barely felt any pain. She was only set back a couple inches.

"The Aero spell!" Donald shouted. She just casted Aero on herself, unknowingly lessening the damage done to her. He honestly expected Sarina to learn it first.

May looked at the wind still surrounding her. For some reason, it felt oddly comforting and special to her, more than any other magic spell. She silently went back to slashing at the heartless, stabbing large hole into its torso. Even when the heartless slammed its torso into her repeatedly, she barely felt any damage, only a slight tingly sensation in her body.

Sora jumped unto the heartless and dealt the final blow, knocking its head off. The heartless and all its limbs disappeared in a bright white light, and another large heart shot upwards into the sky.

Sora simply stared at the sky for a moment before walking towards the Traverse Town keyhole and sealing it. He walked up towards May, who was talking to Donald.

"That was the Aero spell. When you cast the spell, a small gust of wind surrounds and lessens the damage done to your body," the court wizard explained.

"Really? That's amazing," May smiled at her twin, "I might actually be better at this magic thing then I thought."

Sarina smiled back. At last her twin knew something before she did.

"The keyhole is sealed. Now the heartless should stop appearing in this town." Sora announced. The group nodded and walked off towards the First District.

* * *

"They did it. They defeated that monster!" Miranda thought to herself. She watched the entire battle unfolded from the safety of a hotel window.

Those kids were only a few years younger than, and yet they took on a giant monster where she couldn't even take down a tarantula. And while Donald Duck and Goofy fighting ( _They're real?_ ) shocked her to the core, they weren't the freakiest sight she seen so far.

 _'They might do it. They might actually save my world.'_ She thought of her best friends, her brother, her classmates. She might see them again.

There was a knock on the door, and Miranda happily answered it. Aerith walked in, carrying a beverage. "I made some orange juice. Would you like some?"

"Sure!" Miranda said as she accepted the drink. She took a sip and promptly gagged. "What's in this?"

"Oh, I put some milk inside the orange juice to spice it up," Aerith explained without a care in the world.

Miranda gave her an incredulous look.


	7. Agrabah

The streets of Agrabah were strangely empty. Not a single soul was outside. Not even the palace guards.

It was perfect for two evil individuals such as Jafar and Maleficent to converse without being seen.

"And the keyhole?" The witch asked as they walked the streets.

"The heartless are searching for it now," The royal vizier answered, "I'm certain we'll find it somewhere else. So that just leaves—,"

A loud squawk rang through the air, and a red parrot flew down and rested on Jafar's shoulder. "Jafar! I've looked everywhere for Jasmine. She's disappeared like magic!" The parrot explained in a loud and obnoxious voice. He was Iago, Jafar's(mostly loyal) companion.

"The girl is more trouble than she's worth," Jafar sneered. He went through the trouble of imprisoning that poor excuse for a sultan and that troublesome tiger, but for what? The princess running off with no traces of where she was? He even wasted time using the heartless to get rid of all the guards.

"I thought you said you had things in control," Maleficent asked in suspicion.

"Agrabah is full of holes for rats to hide in," Jafar responded coolly. "But why worry about Princess Jasmine? With her or without her, surely this world will be ours when we find the keyhole."

"We need all seven princesses of heart to open the final door. Any fewer is useless," Maleficent explained.

"Shouldn't there be more than seven?" The royal vizier asked.

"Every world has a princess of heart but only seven are needed for opening the door. And if you say the girl Jasmine is one, then we need her," she replied.

"Well, if the princess is that important, we'll find her." Jafar looked to the side, where a crop of heartless bearing scimitars appeared. They wore bright white turbans with matching face masks, yellow vests trimmed in gold, dark red pants with silver trim that was held in place by a salmon colored sash, blue curled-toe shoes, plum and silver chokers, armbands, and gold and silver bracelets and rings.

"Find Jasmine and bring her at once," Jafar ordered. The heartless promptly ran off with the parrot, Iago, taking the lead. Jafar began to follow them when Maleficent spoke one last time. "Don't steep too far into the darkness too long. The Heartless consume the careless." Clayton was a clear reminder of that.

Jafar scoffed. "Your concern is touching but hardly necessary."

A young girl with dusky skin, dark brown eyes, thick black hair tied into a low ponytail in a blue ribbon, and a teal headband accompanied with a sapphire in the center, glanced at them from within a stall and quickly went back to hiding behind a pile of watermelons in fear.

* * *

"Ugh! Is this what sitting in an oven feels like?" May exclaimed as they descended from the gummi ship. The desert was sweltering in its brutal heat. Sand was blowing in her face, making her constantly shield her eyes.

She looked over to Sora, who was gazing at the very large palace that was visible even from where they were standing. "Wow! I've never seen something so huge!"

 _'Agrabah'._ "It's much bigger than it looks in the movie," May noted as she shielded her eyes. She then glanced at the rest of her traveling companions.

"Yeah, and those three are definitely going to need scarves," May said to her twin as she looked at Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Goofy was sweating out buckets, Donald already looked like he was getting cooked well done, and Sora could possibly end up getting severe burns. He may have been tanned but that might not save him.

As they walked towards the city gate, a small man in a stall called to them. "Over here!"

When they walked over, he pulled out all kinds of vases, pots, and jewels. "I'm having a sale, travelers! I have the essential needs for your journey!"

"No thanks," May responded, "We have all the supplies we need."

The man pouted. "You're not running out of anything even a little bit?" The party shook their heads. "Oh come on! I haven't had any service in week! No one is coming out of their homes!"

May raised her eyebrow. "Really? How come?"

"The palace has been taken over and strange creatures have been attacking the residents so nobody is coming out, even the city bandits. The city itself has been rather…uncomfortable since the royal vizier took over for the Sultan."

It was pretty obvious who the culprit was to the twins.

"Hmm, looks like we have something to investigate," Sora said, crossing his arms.

"Something's not right about this," Goofy added with Donald nodding fiercely.

* * *

As they entered the city's plaza, they found that the city was indeed a ghost town. Not a single soul was outside, and the atmosphere was eerily calm.

"This is creepy," May said as she shuddered. When she thought of Agrabah, she thought of the bustling city from the movie, not this barren city with zero signs of life. They left the bazaar and walked along the main the street. There were still no signs of life.

"This house looks abandoned," Sora said as he looked up at a particular empty house. He walked into the entrance, where a pole was waiting. He crawled up on the pole, until he reached an upper level. The house was rather dilapidated, with large cracks in the wall and large holes all over.

He spotted a purple carpet lying on the floor, looking somewhat out of place. He went over to look at it, when the carpet suddenly jumped up.

"Woah!" Sora exclaimed, jumping back a bit. May crawled onto the floor via the pole with Donald on her back. Goofy and Serena were next.

Goofy and Donald looked at the carpet in shock. "It's alive!" They shouted at the same time.

Sora and the carpet looked hesitantly at each other for a moment. Then Sora reached to touch it, and the carpet flew out of the house as quickly as possible.

"Wait!" Sora went to follow it, but May grabbed him.

"The carpet flew off for the desert, but let's explore the city some more," Donald suggested. Sora did just that—by jumping out the large gaping hole in the house. Donald snorted at the boy's recklessness and opted to slide back down the pole instead with Goofy and Sarina right behind him.

May jumped out the hole as well and landed right on Sora.

As Sora's face met the ground and stars clouded his vision, he wondered why this kept happening to him. May got off him and chuckled. He stood up and pouted, walking away from her. She quickly followed him along with the rest of the group.

They entered an alleyway and looked around it.

"Yeesh, not even heartless are here!" May exclaimed.

"It's rather strange, don't you think? I wonder why?" Sora replied.

"Who's there? Hello?" A voice called out.

"Huh?"

Behind two barrels in the alleyway, sat Princess Jasmine. When she overheard voices that didn't sound like it came from Jafar or his goons, she decided to reveal herself.

"Jasmine?" May said out before she could stop herself. The princess smiled nervously.

"Who are you? Why are you hiding there?" Sora demanded, and May sighed at the fact that he wasn't supposed to address royalty that way. There had to be some sort of official on his island, right?

"I'm Jasmine," the older girl introduced, "My father is the sultan of Agrabah."

"Um…So that make you a princess?" Goofy responded. The princess smiled sadly. "But he's been deposed by Jafar, who now controls the city."

The twins bit their lips as Goofy tilted his head in confusion. "Jafar?"

"You haven't heard of him?" Jasmine replied in confusion.

"We're not from around here," Sora explained.

"He's the royal vizier. He's gained evil powers and seized Agrabah. He's desperately looking for something—something he calls the "Keyhole". Jafar caught me trying to escape, but _he_ helped me. "

"Who helped you?"

"Aladdin," she smiled, "We were hiding nearby, but he left a while ago to take care of something. Oh, I hope he's alright…,"

"Why? Is he like your boyfriend or something?" Sora replied with a teasing grin. Jasmine blushed. "Uh…it's complicated."

"Don't worry, Sora's got a girl that he's worrying about too! She's all he talks about!" May remarked, earning a glare from Sora. He blushed red at the thought of Kairi, making May laugh.

"Aladdin? Where might I find this street rat?" Everybody froze at the voice.

Jafar grinned evilly from where he was standing, on a platform. "Jasmine, allow me to find you more suitable company, my dear princess. These little rats won't do, you see."

"I would never go with you!" Jasmine barked, and Sora had to admire her fierceness. He didn't expect that from a princess. Nevertheless, he had to protect her. "Jasmine, run!"

As the princess ran to safety, the rest of the group summoned their weapons.

"Ah, the children who holds the keys. Hmph." Jafar snapped his fingers, and the heartless that appeared earlier to look for Jasmine materialized. He arrogantly walked away to another area of the city.

"Heartless with scimitars? Really?" An aggravated May asked, engaging in a sword fight with one of the heartless. The creature desperately tried to stab her, but she matched it at every turn. When it went for her head, she deflected the blow and promptly sliced its head off. Good thing these monsters disappeared into thin air when they died, otherwise she knew she would be traumatized by all the blood.

She felt a presence behind her, and before she could react, another heartless was quickly incinerated by her sister. She nodded a thanks at her, and went to assist Sora with fighting another one.

After all four those Bandits were defeated; the group looked around for Jasmine, who had mysteriously disappeared.

"I'm pretty sure when you told her to run, you didn't mean for her to run off where no one could find her," May said to Sora.

"This city is dangerous right now, Jafar could kidnap her at any moment," Donald added, frowning.

"Well then we're gonna have to find her. Simple," Sora concluded simply.

"Maybe she went off to find Aladdin," Goofy rationalized.

* * *

They stood back outside the city gates in the hot boiling desert.

"So the solution is that we search this entire steaming desert and get possible heat strokes because you girls have an inkling of where Aladdin and Jasmine might be?" Donald pressed suspiciously.

Even on paper, the idea sounded pretty stupid and dangerous, but what did Sora, Donald, and Goofy know? They never saw the movie.

"Look, it may sound crazy but there really is a big scary cave out in the desert. It's very possible that Aladdin might have wound up in there," May defended.

"And how would you know about this 'Cave of Wonders'? How do you know it's real?" Donald challenged.

"Because I read it in a book once," May replied and Donald snorted. She didn't really know. The Cave of Wonders was most likely not in _One Thousand and One Nights_. Disney wasn't really accurate at adapting historical events and fairy tales.

The sentient carpet from earlier suddenly swept down in front of them.

"It's the carpet!" Sora exclaimed.

The carpet danced around frantically as if it was trying to tell them something. It went over and tugged on Sora's arm in a panic.

"I think it wants us to come with it," Sora suggested. It most definitely had to do with Aladdin.

"Can all five of us even fit on it?" May asked.

The carpet answered by floating upwards and stretching itself out. The group climbed on its back, and the carpet flew off.

* * *

Hours later, at night, the carpet took them to an area in front of a cave where a young man and his monkey were drowning in quicksand.

"That's Aladdin!" May shouted, jumping off the carpet and running towards them. Bandits popped up in front of her, and she immediately growled, summoning her keyblade.

A battle commenced when the rest of the group jumped off the carpet to fight with her. Sarina and Donald took no time in getting rid of the heartless with their magic, while Goofy deflected their blows and struck at them with his shield in return.

Sora and May finished the last one off together. Sora ran up to Aladdin and the monkey, and before the man could even look up, heartless appeared once again.

"Gawrsh! Not again!" Goofy protested.

The young man suddenly found the strength to pull a golden lamp out of his pocket. He held it up to the air. "Genie, get us out of here!"

The lamp shook rapidly, and a large, sky blue being with black hair tied into a topknot. His nose was small and pointed, and his ears were curved and pointed. The twins recognized him immediately. "Genie!"

"Wish Number One, coming right up!" Genie bellowed dramatically, and Sora had to admire his theatrics. The genie snapped his fingers, and the heartless disappeared instantly.

"I see…Thanks guys," Aladdin smiled.

"You're welcome…good thing we came or else you've would have been a goner," May said.

"Aladdin, what are you doing out here?" Sora asked him.

"Same old stuff. Hunting legendary treasure, Just paid a visit to the Cave of Wonders," Aladdin answered, grinning. The carpet jumped around. "I found that magic carpet, and this lamp." He pulled out the lamp, and looked down on it. "Legend has it that whoever holds the lamp can summon the—,"

"Please, kid, leave the intros to a professional," Genie cut him off, "The one and only GENIE OF THE LAMP!" He frantically took the lamp from Aladdin's hands and rubbed it. He instantly appeared in another spot. "Rub-a-dub-dub the lamp and have your dearest wishes granted," He circled Aladdin and sprinkled confetti all over him, "Today's winner is…Aladdin! Congratulations!"

"Is it me or do he sound less like Robin Williams and more like Homer Simpson?" May whispered to her twin. Sarina had to agree; something about Genie's voice sounded off.

Donald grew greedy thoughts at the words "dearest wishes granted". "Any wishes?"

Genie wagged his finger at the court wizard and spun around. "Patience, my fine, feathered, friend! Any three wishes! A one wish, a two wish, and a three wish," he held out three fingers, "Then I make like a banana and split! Our winner made his first wish," he reappeared next to Sora and whispered into his ear: "And let me tell you what a doozy that wish was…so he has two left!"

Genie popped up next to Aladdin. "So, master, what'll you have for Wish Number two?" The spotlight was on the poor boy.

Aladdin pondered it for a moment. "Hmm, how about making me a fabulously wealthy prince?"

"Oooh! Money! Royalty! Fame! Why didn't I think of that? Okay, you asked for it! A hundred servants and a hundred camels loaded with gold! Just say the word, and I'll deliver it in 30 minutes or less or the meal's free!" Genie responded. He wrapped his arm around Aladdin. "Hey, I'll even throw in a cappuccino!"

"No thanks," the young man chuckled. "Aww," was the being's response.

"I'll think I'll put that on hold until we reach Agrabah," Aladdin said.

"Uh, why a prince?" Goofy asked. The young man turned a dark red. "You see, there's this girl in Agrabah named Jasmine, but she's a princess and I'm a…Aw, she could never fall for a guy like me."

"Who could not like a guy like you?" May complimented. He was charming, hot, and adorable, like in the movie. She couldn't blame Angie for holding a rather obsessive crush on him since she was little.

"Oh. Princess?" Donald asked, an alarm going off in his mind.

"You mean Jasmine?" Goofy added.

"Oh, that's right! She's in trouble, Aladdin!" Sora informed him.

"Jafar is on a personal manhunt for her, and has taken over the entire city!" May explained.

"What? Well, c'mon, let's get going!" Aladdin ordered.

While on the entire group flew on the carpet, Genie flew around with them. "Ah, fresh air! The great outdoors!"

"I guess you don't get out much, huh?" Sora replied. The genie was acting rather excitable.

"Comes with the job," the blue being answered, "PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER….itty bitty living space. It's always three wishes, then back to my portable prison. I'm lucky to see the light of day every century or two…."

"That's really sad," May replied, "You deserve more than that."

"Say, Genie, what if I use my last wish to free you from the lamp? What do you think?" Aladdin asked him at the front.

Genie's eyes widened. "You'd do that?"

"Genie, it's a promise. After we help Jasmine."

* * *

"So Jafar is after Jasmine and this "Keyhole?" Aladdin asked the group as they gathered in his house. Turns out that the house they were in earlier was Aladdin's this entire time. Abu sat on Aladdin's shoulder.

"Keyhole, eh? I could swear I've heard that somewhere before," Genie wondered aloud.

"Really? Where?" Donald demanded.

"Now where was it? It's been only 200 years...," Genie continued on as if he hadn't heard the duck, making Donald roll his eyes.

"Well, anyway, we got to stop Jafar before it's too late!" Sora exclaimed.

Leaving the house, they walked into another area, on a high platform. From there, they could see Jafar trying to coerce the princess into going with him.

"I would rather die than to let you take me!" Jasmine spat.

"Perhaps that could be arranged," The royal vizier sneered, although he knew that it wouldn't please Maleficent. He tried to go for her, but she backed away from him.

"Leave her alone!" Aladdin barked as he jumped off the platform and took out his sword.

"Setting your sights a little high, aren't you boy?" Jafar shot at him, "Back to your hole, street rat. I will not allow you to trouble the princess any longer."

"Jasmine!" He called for her, and she tried to run towards him, but Jafar stopped her in her tracks. ""I'm so sorry, Aladdin," she said, giving up.

Rubbing the lamp behind his back, Aladdin summoned Genie, "Genie, help Jasmine, please."

"What?" The royal vizier shrieked. He turned around, only to meet the sights of Genie floating upwards with Jasmine in his arms.

"One wish left! You're making this really easy you know?" The blue prisoner of the lamp said cheerfully.

Jafar was seething. All those years of searching for that lamp, and a street rat found it. No, this will not do. "So sorry, boy. I'm afraid your second wish has been denied."

Iago flew in and snatched the lamp from the boy before he could even react. He quickly dropped it in the hands of his master, and Jafar grinned evilly towards the group.

"Uh oh," May whispered to Sora. Things were about to get really nasty.

"This isn't good isn't it?" Sora rhetorically asked.

"I'm sorry Al," Genie said in sorrow as in he disappeared in a bright pink puff. Jasmine fell in the pot below them. Spider legs busted out of the pot, and the eyes of a heartless appeared front and center. Three more pots in the area did the same.

In Jafar's mind, it was about time for these little filths to be wiped out of existence.

"And now I bid you all farewell, Attack!" Jafar commanded the heartless, him and Iago disappearing.

The four Pot Spiders in the area assembled into a body with a large blue head, resembling a centipede.

The heartless charged towards them, and Goofy quickly threw his shield at the head, knocking the heartless back. Sarina casted Thunder on the pots, and it broke open. May and Sora jumped on its body, and that's when it snapped back to its senses. Using its antennas, it electrocuted the two teens on the spot, and they fell to the ground in pain.

Aladdin retaliated by slicing another pot open, and dodging the whip of the heartless' tail.

Another pot was blown up by Donald's fire spell, and the heartless speeded off into another area. The group quickly followed it in front of the palace gates, and destroyed the last pot. The heartless evaporated into the sky, letting out a large heart.

Aladdin searched the area, desperately looking for Jasmine. "Jasmine!" He cried out.

Jafar's laugh rang through the air.

"It's sounds like it's coming from the desert!" May shouted.

"Then we need to go there!" Aladdin replied anxiously.

The rest of the party quickly nodded and headed towards the desert.

* * *

They took the Carpet through the desert once more in search of Jasmine. They ended up at the Cave of Wonders once more…or what should be the Cave of Wonders.

It was just a big pile of sand.

"Weird," Sora started, "It was just here be—,"

A violent tremor went through the area. The Cave erupted upward, however something was off. Its eyes glowed purple instead of gold, and dark tendrils surrounded the head of the cave. It roared, and bright beams shot from its eyes, aimed directly from its eyes.

May immediately dodged, pulling Sora out of the way as well while Goofy blocked the beams with his shield, protecting Sarina and Aladdin who stood behind him.

Poor Donald was the only one hit, screaming in pain. Mumbling some not-so-Disney-friendly words, he quickly shot a fire spell towards its mouth.

The cave swallowed up the fire ball with no issue.

"Oh for # &!%'s sake!" The court wizard swore loudly, making the twins gasp at hearing a Disney character curse so roughly.

"Oh he does it all the time. The king used to do it every other word when he was younger as well. Hyuck, their swear jars was filled up the brim! Hehe!" Goofy explained casually. The twins could not believe what they were hearing.

"Guys! Little help here?" Aladdin snapped as he sliced the Cave. To his aggravation, his slashes were doing no damage to the Cave due to it being made out of sand.

Sora climbed on its head and drove his keyblade into its head. Before he knew it, he was swallowed up by the sand and spat right back out. The Cave then exhaled fire out of its mouth, and Sora was immediately burned by it. Rini quickly casted Cure on the brunette, healing him.

"Thanks," he muttered.

May casted Aero on herself, and was pleased when she felt wind encircling her. She shot a fire spell into one of its eyes, and the left eye turned gold again.

"Found its weak spot!" She cheered, only for another beam to knock her keyblade out of her hand. "Ow, ow, ow!" She cried out in pain, holding her hand.

Aladdin chucked his sword into the other eye, and the heartless that possessed the Cave, dissipated into a white light. The Cave of Wonders fully returned to its normal state.

"I don't like this new version of Aladdin we're in," May hissed out to her twin, who nodded quietly.

"Jasmine's in here. I know it," Aladdin said firmly. He ran into the cave, and the rest of the party followed him inside.

* * *

"My first wish Genie, show me the Keyhole!" Jafar ordered his servant.

With severe sadness, Genie snapped his fingers, and the keyhole of Agrabah revealed itself through the walls.

He hoped Al and the others will forgive him for whatever other wishes Jafar might order him to do.

* * *

Inside the Cave was filled with large rooms decked out in traps, pillars, and jewels. There were secret passages only Aladdin or Abu could reach. Once again, they found chests filled with Dalmatian Pups, potions, or items for their Gummi Ships.

When they reached the treasure chamber, Aladdin took special precaution to keep Abu as far away from any of the gems as possible. Allah knows how disastrous that last attempt went. However, Sora found himself VERY tempted to take some jewels. Perhaps taking a ruby home with him couldn't hu—

"Don't even think about it," May said sharply, seemingly reading his thoughts.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sora huffed. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Babyface."

He scowled. One of these days he was gonna come up with a nickname that SHE wasn't going to like.

The second the keyhole appeared, Maleficent revealed herself. The witch snorted when Jafar told her of the issues he was facing with the group.

"Those children again?" The witch huffed.

"They're more persistent than I expected. Why not explain the situation to that boy Riku?" the royal vizier tried to explain. He didn't like answering to someone, but if he ever wanted to get what he wanted, then he would unfortunately have to do so. "Doing so may actually prove useful to our—,"

The group ran into the lamp chamber. Sora stopped when he spotted the fairy witch. "Wait a second. Are you Maleficent?"

Maleficent smirked evilly and disappeared.

"Wow, is she scared of us or something?" May asked, although she knew damn well it wasn't the answer.

"Jafar, let Jasmine go!" Aladdin demanded angrily.

"Not a chance," Jafar sneered. Since the rats came this far, he might as well tell them the truth. "You see, she's a princess, one of seven who to our knowledge hold the key to opening the door."

"Open…," Goofy trailed off.

"The door?" Donald finished for him.

"What kind of door is this?" May added.

"The kind that you fools won't live to see what lies beyond it," The royal vizier replied.

"Clever," May said in a bored tone. "Are you going to do corny magic tricks now?"

Seething, Jafar looked over to a downtrodden Genie. "Genie! My second wish. Crush them!"

"At least it isn't 'Genie, give me some fabulous but unnecessary makeover instead'," May mumbled, thinking of the scene in the movie where Jafar's clothes changed during the second wish.

"Genie, no!" Aladdin pleaded.

"Sorry, Al. The one with the lamp calls the shots. I don't have a choice," Genie lamented. He obeyed Jafar's wish and casted the spell.

Empowered by Genie, Jafar lifted up his spear and sealed off all potential exits and the Keyhole. He then floated into the air, sealing himself off in a bubble, power circling around him.

"Punkass," May grumbled, then jumped in shock at an oncoming lightning bolt Jafar shot at her. She glared at the royal vizier. "Hasty, aren't you?"

Casting Aero on herself, she tried to attack him, but a blue beam struck her side, knocking her to the ground. She immediately got up, barely in pain, and looked at the offender, and gasped. "Genie, but why?"

"I'm so sorry. I have no control of my actions," was his response.

She angrily tried to swipe another attack at Jafar, but he simply floated away. _'Grrh! I hate him! This isn't supposed to happen!'_

Jafar swung his scepter around, and a brief ice storm swept across the area, hitting May and freezing Aladdin.

Sarina immediately melted the ice block with Fire, and Aladdin held himself, shivering.

Sora tried to cast Fire at Jafar in retaliation, but the latter quickly froze his fireball. Frustrated, Sora tried to jump up and slash at him, but the royal vizier simply floated out of the way.

"You little dirt rats really think you can harm me?" Jafar cackled, shooting another lightning bolt.

May deflected it with her keyblade. "Why don't you stop floating around like a chicken and fight us for real? And I'm not a dirt rat! I shower every day, thank you very much!"

Jafar broke off the bubble, and tried to swing at her with his scepter wrapped in fire, but Sora froze his scepter with Blizzard.

"Brat!" The royal vizier roared at Sora. He unfroze his scepter and shot a dark beam towards the brunette, but Sora rolled out of the way. Aladdin jumped up and slashed at him, but Jafar quickly burned the street urchin's hand. He then electrocuted Donald and Goofy simultaneously, and then burned May and Sora.

Watching all of this carnage unfold made something inside Serena snap. She wanted to end all this quickly before everybody died. However instead of a burning anger, she felt rather chilly instead. Her keyblade grew cold, even colder than usual. Holding her keyblade, she swung her keyblade around, and large ice crystals shot from her blade and spread around the field, hitting Jafar immediately. The royal vizier found himself on the ground, shivering from the sheer chills in his body. What had this girl done to him?

"That's a big too much for a Blizzard spell, isn't it?" May asked Donald as she healed herself.

"That's because she had casted Blizzara!" The court wizard replied.

"Blizzara?" The two teens said at once.

"An upgraded Blizzard spell," the duck casually replied, "You two will learn it soon enough."

 _'Enough of this! I will need power, more power!'_ Jafar thought in his mind. The royal vizier then disappeared from the chamber with a loud cackle.

"I hate him," May snapped, "Why couldn't he just get the fabulous but unnecessary makeover?"

"This is not over, isn't it?" Aladdin asked, knowing the answer.

 _'No, he's going to ask Genie to turn him into an all-powerful Genie,'_ May thought somberly. A lot of things were different from the movie, but this was not going to be one of them, she could feel it.

* * *

Aladdin and Sora hopped onto the ledge where the Keyhole and Jasmine lay, unconscious. Just when he was about to reach for her, Jafar appeared in the air.

"Genie, my final wish," Jafar began as he held the lamp up in the air, "I want you to make me an all powerful genie!"

' _Dammit!'_ May thought.

Genie couldn't even look at Jafar as he granted his final wish. A bright beam shot from his finger, and it enveloped Jafar.

An earthquake shook throughout the room, and a large pit from down below, revealed itself through the disintegrating room. When the group jumped down, they got a real look of how bad things were.

The platform was surrounded by lava on all four sides. Lava poured out of the walls, and it was very, _very_ hot. It was nearly suffocating.

Then Genie Jafar triumphantly rose from the river of lava, and the twins had the urge to wet themselves. Seeing him as a gigantic, scary, and murderous Genie was one thing on TV, but in real life, it was terrifying.

Like in the movie, Jafar had blood red skin, pointed ears, a golden earring on his right ear, completely yellow ears, and a ponytail tied in a top knot. He was huge, VERY huge.

"The lamp, get the lamp!" Aladdin shouted, glancing at Iago, who was flying around the field with the lamp.

Smirking evilly, Jafar swiped the field with his large hand, nearly knocking everyone into the lava.

"How are we going to do that?" May shrieked, holding onto her twin in mixture of fear and protectiveness. She didn't want to die tonight, not like this, no way. She has seen the horrifying effects of lava on in science books and documentaries. The worst part was that unless they magically gained the ability to fly, there's no way they fight Jafar WITHOUT falling to their burning death.

Donald tried to freeze Iago where he stood, but the parrot flew quickly out of the way, while Jafar shot powerful beams from his eyes in an attempt to incinerate the group. When they didn't work, he quietly submerged himself deep into the lava.

"What's he trying to do?" May wondered, and then regretted her answers about two seconds later when Jafar rose back out of the lava with a giant meteor in his hands. She looked over to Sora, who had never looked so pale. When Jafar chucked the meteor at them, everybody jumped on the lowest platform available. Jafar attempted to sweep them off of it, but everybody dodged this time. Iago was practically mocking them, as he flew very low past them, and then flew much higher when someone was an inch from grabbing him.

"This needs to end now!" May yelled out as she was nearly incinerated by another one of Jafar's beams. The Aero Spell may have lessened the damage done to her, but what could it do against Jafar's attacks? Leave her body charred completely back instead of being in ashes? She wasn't aiming to die tonight.

When Iago when to tease them again, Abu of all people, crawled out from the back of Aladdin's vest and snatched the lamp from out of Iago's hands.

"Hey! Give that back!" The parrot shrieked. The monkey tossed the lamp to Sora.

"Alright Jafar! Go back to your lamp!" Sora commanded, holding the black lamp up.

Jafar screamed in protest as he felt his power dwindling, and bright red beams encircled him as he was dragged into the constricted area that was the magic lamp.

Pure fire surged through Sora's veins as he looked at the black lamp. A deep burning flame rippled throughout his body. Something told him that a new form of Fire was within him.

A piece of paper floated through the air, and Sarina caught it just before it could hit the river.

"Ansem's Report #1", it read.

* * *

Jasmine had regained her consciousness and had observed the entire battle, worryingly. Jafar was powerful enough as a human, but his Genie form? She was shocked to see them alive and well after that ordeal.

She heard a noise behind her, and when she turned around, she was promptly knocked into unconsciousness again.

* * *

The carpet flew the group up on the platform that had the Keyhole placed in front of it.

Aladdin was expected to see Jasmine, and was horrified to see the opposite. "Jasmine? Jasmine!"

She was gone, as if she was never there in the first place.

"She's been taken! Just like Alice!" Sarina said in shock. May walked up and sealed the keyhole. It glowed gold for a moment before the Keyhole disappeared as if it was never there. Even if they failed in saving another girl, the very least she could do was wipe out the heartless hordes that Jafar infested the world with. However, everything had gone to crap once again, like in Wonderland.

May awkwardly walked up to Aladdin and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry Aladdin, we'll find her, I sw—,"

Another earthquake shook through the room, and this time, it was clear the cave was about to collapse.

"Whoa! We better get outta here!" Goofy shouted, stating the obvious thought that ran through everyone's mind.

As everyone hopped on the Carpet and frantically left the cave in a panic, Sora and May had to restrain a distraught Aladdin, who was still calling for Jasmine.

* * *

"So, Jasmine's no longer in Agrabah," Aladdin realized with a pained look on his face. They were back in Aladdin's home, where three more Dalmatian pups were waiting to be freed. Genie was twirling around the room happily out of his own lamp, relieved to be freed from Jafar's tyranny. Aladdin rose, balling his fists. "Let's go find her."

"Sorry, we can't take you with us," Sora said in regret.

"Wh-Why not?" The street urchin stuttered in shock.

"Your place is here, in Agrabah. The city will need help adjusting, because the Sultan certainly can't do it on his own," May tried to explain, and not mentioning the Sultan was a bit of an oaf.

"I sure wish we could…," Goofy whispered to Donald.

"But we can't. If we take him to another world, we would be…," Donald trailed off.

"Muh, muh—,"

"Meddling!"

"Aladdin, we'll find Jasmine, we promise," Sora reassured.

"And you guys will have your big wedding and live happily ever after," May added. _'That is, if your lives won't be like the Aladdin sequels where you two don't married until the end of the third film…'_

"Uh, earth to Al. Hello? You still have one wish left," Genie reminded the boy. "Look, just say the word. Ask me to find Jasmine for you."

The group looked at Aladdin in expectation. Was he going to free the Genie like he promised?

"I…I wish…for your freedom Genie!"

Genie froze. "Al?"

A bright purple glow enveloped him and suddenly the golden bands on Genie's wrists popped off, and he now had legs. Never had Genie felt so empowered in his life.

"A deal's a deal, Genie. Now you can go anywhere you want. You're your own master," Aladdin explained, "But if you can, it'd be great if you could go along with them and help the kids find Jasmine."

Genie huffed, turned around, and folded his arms. "Sorry, Al. I'm done taking orders from others. But…A favor, now that's something entirely different," he turned around and smiled at the group, "I guess I could give that a try," He wrapped his arm cheerfully around Aladdin, "After all, we're pals, right, Al?"

"Genie," Aladdin started in worry.

"Just leave it to me!"

Aladdin smiled warmly and rubbed the back of his head. With Genie on their side, they'll find Jasmine for sure.

* * *

Maleficent was annoyed, severely annoyed. She told that fool Jafar to not let the darkness overtake him, and now look at what happened. She, Hades, and her new pet, Riku, stood in her chamber.

Hades shared her annoyance, the God of The Underworld sighed. "That smarmy vizier could've had 'em, if someone stuck around to give him a hand," he directed accusingly at Riku.

"Hey, I did my part. I brought the princess, didn't I?" Riku snapped. He couldn't stand the god of death's snide remarks. "Capture the princess", that was his task, wasn't it?

"Jafar was beyond help, consumed by his own hatred. One should beware of letting it burn too fiercely," Maleficent responded, directing that comment towards Hades without even looking at him.

Hades caught the irony in her statement. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Lighten up. I'm as cool as they come, okay?" He glanced at Riku. "By the way, kid, have we got something special for you."

The silver-haired teen tilted his head in confusion. He looked at Maleficent, who grinned evilly at him.

"We had a deal, yes?" She reminded him. "You help us, and we grant you your wish…"

She swiped her hand across the round table, and Kairi appeared in a hologram, unconscious.

"Kairi!" Riku called out, reaching for her. All of this, all what he was doing was for her, Kairi.

"Go to her. Your vessel is waiting," Maleficent ordered.

Just then, Captain Hook walked up. He knew where Kairi was. "Just remember, this is no pleasure cruise. It won't be a pleasant voyage." He just had to throw that out there, he had no tolerance for seasick cabin boys. They were often immediately thrown overboard or had their throats slit as soon as they started whining.

Riku couldn't believe all of this. "Why are you doing all of this for me? What's the catch?"

"Catch? What catch?" Maleficent sneered at her new puppet. Time for a little emotional manipulation. She walked up to him, and with the best motherly tone she could fake, she started pulling his strings again. "Silly boy. You're like a son to me. I only want you to be happy." She reached out, and to her secret aggravation, the little puppet stepped back from her. "I seriously doubt that."

She tried to act hurt. "Believe what you wish. But lest we forget, I kept my end of the bargain."

Riku simply looked at her, and walked away. He didn't trust the fairy witch and her round table of goons, but for Kairi, he'd do anything…

* * *

They would find Jasmine. They was absolutely sure of it, but for now, Genie tagged along with as a Summon, just like Simba. However, they didn't need to go to Fairy Godmother to awaken him, since Genie's magic instantly had him on call.

Which they immediately took advantage of.

"Genie! I summon thee!" May had called, and Genie popped up immediately.

"Already? Are we in danger?" The former prisoner of the lamp asked while looking around the ship frantically.

"No, I just need you to open the cap on this soda for me," Sora replied flatly, holding up a bottle of a soda from Disney Castle.

Genie's jaw hit the floor in disbelief.

* * *

 _Ansem Report #1_

 _Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that. I am blessed with people's smiles and respect. But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand. I believe darkness sleeps in every heart, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have witnessed it many times. Darkness…Darkness of the heart. How is it born? How does it come to affect us so? As the ruler of this world, I must find the answers. I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the darkness._


	8. Monstro

"Hey Sora, tell me about your parents," May asked

Sora rubbed his head. "My parents? Well, my mother is a fisherwoman and my dad is a teacher at my high school. I got my hair and eye color from my dad while I resemble my mom more in facial features. She has olive skin, black hair, and green eyes. Everyone on the islands says I'm just like her in personality too. I believe it 'cause my dad and I are total opposites and he gets on me all the time about my grades. I definitely prefer my mom over him. What about your parents?"

"My mom is pretty much the older version of me. We have the same dark brown skin tone, dark eyes, black hair, and even hair texture. And we're the same personality wise too. Rini takes more after our Dad; the only difference is that she-' "What is THAT?" Donald said, getting their attention. May and Sora got out of their seats and walked upfront to see what the problem was.

Their eyes quickly widened in horror.

"Is that—," Sora started off.

"A giant space whale?" May finished for him, rubbing her eyes just to make she wasn't hallucinating.

"Wow! It's huge!" Sora said in amazement. The whale flew over them.

"How…how is this possible?" Sarina asked. She knew she seen a lot of strange sights in the past week, but a giant space whale? And it looked really fam—

"It's Monstro," Jiminy fearfully spoke up, halting his journal writing for a moment, "He's a whale of a whale, and vicious besides!"

The whale flew over them again, and the group collectively grew a sense of dread.

"Donald…get us out of there!" May pleaded. The whale was now flying towards them with his mouth wide open.

"It's too late! It's going to swallow us!" The duck said, and the group froze as the whale engulfed them in one whole swallow.

* * *

 _"It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!" A young Sora explained as he and Riku walked along the island rafts. Sora's hair was much brighter back then, a golden brown that looked blond in some lighting._

"You sure you didn't just hear it this time?" Riku responded. Even as small child, he was skeptical.

"What difference does it make? There's a huge monster in there, I tell you!"

His silver haired friend sighed. "Suppose there really is a monster…Think we can really beat it, Sora?"

They stood in front of the entrance to the cove. Sora shook his fist into the air. "No problem, let's do it!" Sora looked ahead at the entrance, his ears perking up. "Listen! There! Can you hear it growling?"

"Shh, stay quiet!" Riku warned, now hearing the noise Sora was talking about. "We gotta be careful!"

When they walked inside the cove, they looked around and saw nothing. "See it was just the wind making the noise."

Sora pouted. "Aww, I wish it was a monster!" Then his ears perked up again. "Hold on, what's that over there?" He glanced over at a large brown door trimmed with gold lining. The door didn't seem like it belonged in the cave…at all.

Riku ran over to the door and tried to open it, but to no avail. "A window or maybe a door? It won't open."

Little Sora was seriously unimpressed. "Geez, is that really all that's in here?"

Little Riku rolled his eyes. "What do you expect in a boring place like this?"

Sora frowned. He really wished this cave had something cool instead of a boring door. For Riku, that door was making a million questions run though his head. How did it get here? Who built it? Why is it here?

"Hey Sora," Riku said, getting the small brunette's attention. "Hm?"

"When we grow up, let's get off this island! We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!" The silver-haired boy boasted. He needed to know where this door came from, and what its purpose is. It didn't look like it came from any part of the island, so it must be from somewhere else. He was going to find out when he was all big!

"Sure. But there isn't there anything fun to do here?" The small brunette responded. He liked playing on the island. It was so big and wide, how could Riku want to leave their home? "Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house? Did you hear—,"

* * *

"KNOCK IT OFF!" Donald shouted, waking Sora out of his slumber on the ground, which was unnaturally soft. The boy stood up awkwardly, and looked the rest of the group. Donald had his head turned up while Goofy waved at him. He found May standing next him, staring at him curiously.

"Are you alright? You were out for like 30 minutes." She told him.

"Really?" He replied. He had no idea he was out for that long.

"Yes, I think you were hit the most," Sarina said walking up. She looked around and frowned deeply. "It seems that we are inside Monstro."

A small chest landed in front of Sora and May, and the latter shivered at the sheer grossness of it. They were inside an animal's body where they can see all the intestines, teeth, and gruel. It looked and felt wrong. It honestly made May want to throw up despite normally being able to handle gross out stuff.

Goofy held his shield up. "For today's weather, expect showers," another small chest bounced off his shield, "Heavy showers."

"I don't think that's coming from the whale," May said, looking up at a wooden platform. Someone was in a treasure chest, pulling out items and discarding what they didn't like. One of the chests they opened up had another trio of Dalmatian pups that quickly disappeared into a white light.

"Who's there?" Donald barked.

The person looked up, and it was a little boy…puppet. His face was slightly pudgy, and he had big blue eyes. He had black hair under a yellow hat with blue trimming, bright red cotton short overalls with yellow buttons, a black vest, a bright yellow shirt, and brown shoes.

"It's me!" The puppet squeaked, which May would have found adorable if she hadn't known of the danger zone hazard that was the boy-puppet.

"Oh, it's just Pinocchio!" Donald exclaimed, making the twins look at him confusion.

From inside Sora's hoodie, Jiminy hopped onto Sora's shoulder. "Pinocchio?"

The puppet ran away.

Jiminy hopped onto the ground in worry. "Pinocchio, where you going? Come on everybody! After him, quick!"

"What have you got there, Pinocchio?" Geppetto asked the little male puppet. He was an old and kindly man. Pinocchio set down a large green gummi block. They were on a large brown ship in front of the throat of the whale. Large wooden towers in general were scattered around the mouth.

"With this, we can get out of here Father," he declared cheerfully.

"Really? With this big block? You think so?"

"It's true," Sora said, crawling up on the ship with the rest of the group. They were soaked from swimming around in the whale's saliva.

"So, how'd you end up here Pinocchio?" Sora asked, standing when he fell onto the deck.

 _'He did something foolish,_ ' May guessed in her mind. She wasn't fond of Pinocchio, mainly because he was always screwing up and getting himself into danger.

"Oh my. So the whale swallowed you up too? My goodness," Geppetto asked the group as he walked up to them.

"Yup," May said, annoyed with the current situation they're in. They're inside a giant space whale that could throw them up into space or digest them in any second. She would rather go back to creepy ass Wonderland.

"My name is Geppetto. I'm Pinocchio's father," the elderly man introduced.

"When we got separated, I traveled all over, looking for him. Thank goodness we're together again."

Pinocchio trailed off to explore the insides of Monstro when nobody was looking.

"So you seem to know Pinocchio quite well. I hope he was a good boy in my absence," Geppetto said as he carried the gummi block off to put it away.

Donald and Goofy decided not to tell him that they caught him stealing when he was in Traverse Town.

Geppetto set the block next to a stack of boxes where his beloved fish, Cleo, swam in its jar. His cat, Figaro, slept on one of the boxes.

"Well, we've had quite the journey. Right Pinocchio? Pinocchio?" Geppetto called for his son, but Pinocchio was gone. Completely.

"Oh this foolish child," May grumbled, low enough that Geppetto couldn't hear it. Sora crossed his arms in frustration. Didn't the kid know the possible risk of getting lost in here?

"We have to go find him!" Jiminy shouted.

* * *

If being in the roof of the whale's mouth wasn't disgusting enough, then being inside one of the inner chambers certainly fit the bill. The walls and floor were so squishy, and the insides of the whale didn't even look realistically like the insides of an organism. They were mostly purple with blue, turquoise, red, yellow, pink, and orange polka dots splattered all over the place as if a three year old with a big paint brush had a job in coloring the insides of the whale. Sora was disgusted, Donald and Goofy were fearful, Sarina was disturbed, and May wondered if the whale accidentally swallowed some space drugs for its insides to look like this.

"This is colorful. Way too colorful," May said. She spotted Pinocchio hiding behind some flesh that had jutted out of the walls. "Hey kid! What are you doing behind there?"

"You know Geppetto's awfully worried about you," Goofy said to the boy, who looked rather fearful of something.

"You could get hurt," May added, despite knowing Pinocchio wasn't going to listen.

"Come on Pinocchio! Stop fooling around, this is no time for games!" Sora scolded. He and the rest of the group turned back around to walk back to the ship, expecting the little boy puppet to follow.

"But Sora, I thought you liked games."

Sora froze. He snapped around to see Riku in front of him.

"Or are you too cool to play now that you got a keyblade?" Riku accused.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" May barked, not missing the bitterness in his voice.

"Riku, wh-what are you doing here?" Sora stuttered, eyes widening. So this is where he ended up at?

Pinocchio ran and hid behind Riku's leg. "Just playing with Pinocchio," the silver haired teen replied in a mocking tone.

"You know what I mean!" Sora snapped. "What about Kairi? Did you find her?"

"Maybe. Catch us and maybe I'll you what I know," Riku said in playful, yet fake tone.

"Come on!" Sora pleaded, and May wondered what kind of friend Riku was supposed to be.

Riku snatched Pinocchio's arm and ran off with him against the puppet's will.

"Did he…did your buddy just kidnap him?" May asked in horror. From over on Sora's shoulder, Jiminy looked like he was going into cardiac arrest.

Then several heartless appeared, making things from bad to worse. They resembled ghosts with an eye falling out of their sockets.

"That's weird," May said, "That's really weird." She threw her keyblade at the one in the center, only for it to go right through the heartless's body.

"You didn't think that was going to work, did you?" Sora asked her. She shrugged in response.

The heartless immediately went to attack them...at an incredibly slow pace. They put yellow searchlights on and floated around the chamber. It seems that they could not see the group without the searchlight, making the group decide to quietly head towards another chamber. If the heartless couldn't see them, then what was the point of fighting them? It was best to leave them on their own.

In another chamber (that strangely looked exactly like the first one), the same heartless appeared again, along with a Fat Bandit. The Fat Bandit jumped and created a shockwave, knocking the group back into a wall that instantly jiggled. Sarina wasted no time in casting Blizzara, encasing the Fat Bandit entirely in ice. Donald then struck Thundara on the heartless, and it disappeared immediately.

Avoiding one of the Search Ghosts, May opened up a chest with large blue jar. "What's this?" She asked.

"A Mega-Ether," Donald responded, "It replenishes your magic."

"Magic can run out?" May asked.

"Of course, have you seen your sister?"

Sarina heaved after casting the higher Blizzard spell. It was rather exhausting casting magic spell after magic spell, especially if some of the spells missed their target.

Like the other Search Ghost for example. One of them grabbed Sora and took him up into the air, sucking energy out of him. Sora flailed in its grasp, desperately trying to make it drop him as his skin grew pale.

Before he knew it, a rather savage fireball hit the Search Ghost in the head, destroying it and making Sora hit the ground. He looked at May, who had a calm expression on her face.

"Well, what do you know, its weak spot is its head," She replied casually. She kneeled down and slid a Hi-Potion towards Sora, He picked up the medium-sized jar and chugged it down, gagging in the process. Those potions tasted awful, just like the cough syrup his mother fed him when he was sick.

When the last heartless was destroyed, Goofy went over to open up another chest, which opened up another Megalixir and a torn page. The royal knight held it into the air to study it. The page had a yellow teddy bear on it.

"Wonder who this fellah is?" Goofy asked. May walked over and looked at the picture.

"His name is Pooh. This must be one of the pages Cid and Merlin were talking about."

Jiminy hopped out of Sora's hoodie, suddenly very angry. "That darn Pinocchio! He's always runnin' away and causin' trouble! The things I live through with that boy…"

Sora stayed silent. He could not believe it; his best friend kidnapped someone. What happened to Riku since the island was taken? Ever since he saw him again, Riku had acted weird towards him, like he was mad at him for something. What did he do? He searched all over for him and Kairi, and for Riku to act like a dick towards him made him a bit angry. From the time they were little kids, Riku was their protector and someone they could rely on. Now he was…Sora didn't know what to think.

Why was Riku acting like this?

* * *

"Why do you still care about the boy? He has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and his new companions, after all," Maleficent scolded Riku. If the puppet hadn't wasted time toying with his fool of friend, then perhaps things would actually get done.

"I don't care about him. I was just messing with him bit," Riku denied. Sora obviously didn't care about him and Kairi no matter he said. He dumped him for those animals, and replaced Kairi with that girl.

"Oh really? Of course you did," Maleficent smiled, irritated inside. "Beware of the darkness in your heart. The heartless prey upon it."

"Mind your own business," Riku snapped as the witch walked into a chamber. God, he hated her! _'Kairi, you better appreciate what I'm suffering for you.'_

Suddenly, Pinocchio dashed right past him into another chamber. _'Didn't I tell that reckless little puppet to stay put? He nearly got killed at least three times from doing that crap! If he gets killed, then it is NOT my fault.'_

Just when he was about to (begrudgingly) run after him, he heard Sora call his name. "Riku!"

Great. Like things couldn't get crappier for him.

"What's the matter with you? What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing? " Sora demanded in that childish voice of his.

"I was about to ask you the same thing Sora," he snapped back, putting his hand on his hip.

"Excuse you but Sora doesn't go around kidnapping little kids," the dark-skinned girl that always seemed to attach herself to Sora's side said.

"Was I talking to you?" He asked her in an irritated voice.

"When you put down my friend like a jackass, you are. Now how about you take a chill pill and actually make me believe your Sora's friend," she replied sharply.

Gritting his teeth, he ignored her and continued. "You only seem interested in running around and showing off that keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi?" He accused him.

"Of course I do? Why would you even think of saying something like that?" Sora fired back. Riku glanced at the girl next to him, and she looked like she wanted to kill him where he stood. _'Hmph, like she had the guts to do that.'_

A childlike scream rang from the other chamber.

"Pinocchio!" May yelled out, running with Jiminy hanging onto her hat.

* * *

Everybody followed her in what seemed to be the stomach of the whale.

In the center of the bowels sat a giant heartless resembling a blob. Its main body was a light orange, its teeth thin as a rail, resembling prison bars. Its smaller head was a light tan with a jagged mouth, light orange and curled antenna on its head, beady yellow eyes, and blue spikes under its mouth. Two long, pale green tentacles sprouted from its body, and its hands were blue. It sat on a pale green vase, with violet and lavender flowers covering it.

The most horrifying about it was that Pinocchio currently was imprisoned in the heartless' mouth. He looked sadly at the group, resigned to his fate.

May was certain that Jiminy was about to have heart attack when he saw Pinocchio; she could hear the cricket constantly gasping as if he was deprived of air.

"How will we save him?" Sarina whispered to May in fear.

"Same thing we do every time. Kill that colorful atrocity and save the day," May said, summoning her keyblade.

"You up for this," Riku said to Sora as if he wasn't mad at him right now. Sora confidently summoned his keyblade and took a fighting stance.

"No problem. Let's do this!"

Immediately the two boys ran to strike right at the cage holding the small puppet, but the Heartless swung its tentacles around, forcing them to duck. "HELP ME! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Pinocchio shouted.

Sarina took a more strategic approach, staying as far away from the heartless as possible because now it was playing the-hit-or-miss game with the group. While Riku somehow was getting a lot of hits in, Sora and May was spending much of their time trying to dodge the heartless's blows.

Sarina gathered up her strength and casted Blizzard on one of its tentacles. Its hand froze, and it looked at its arm in confusion, leaving Sora, May, and Riku to launch a barrage of hits onto the cage. The heartless tried to land a brutal in retaliation with the frozen hand but all three party members rolled out of the way.

The heartless suddenly jumped up and clung to the ceiling. It opened its mouth up, and Pinocchio fell into a black hole. The heartless quickly followed, along with Riku.

"Where's he going?" May asked.

"Perhaps he had a change of heart and decided to return him to his father?" Sora asked in hope.

* * *

He was proven quickly wrong when the group returned to the mouth. All the saliva in the mouth had drained, and the party was quickly treated to a sight of Geppetto pleading to Riku, who had an unconscious Pinocchio under his arm.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio! Please give me back my son!"

"Sorry old man, but I have unfinished business with this puppet," Riku said coldly.

"Your buddy's a dick. Is he possessed or something?" May whispered to Sora, and he just looked at his friend, angered and saddened.

"He's no puppet! Pinocchio's my little boy!" Geppetto exclaimed.

"He's no different than any other child!" Jiminy added from his place on May's hat. He was worried, so very worried. If only the Blue Fairy was here...

"He is unusual. Not many puppets have hearts," Riku agreed. "I'm not sure, but maybe he can help somebody who lost theirs."

"And how is that any way possible?" May said, tapping her foot impatiently. She getting rather creeped out by the number of people obsessed with kidnapping people and wanting their hearts. First Jasmine, now Pinocchio. Now she was positive that Alice is on that list as well.

"Wait a minute. Are you talking about Kairi?" Sora inquired.

"What do you care about her?" Riku spat, and walked off with Pinocchio in his arms. Geppetto wailed in despair, falling to his knees.

"Why Riku?" Sora whispered softly in agony. May squeezed his shoulder comfort, but it wasn't really working.

"I failed him. I'm no good conscience," Jiminy said sorrowfully, refusing to meet Geppetto's eyes.

"How are we helping him by standing here? We can still save him!" Goofy tried to add hope.

"Your friend wants Pinocchio's heart. If we don't stop him, he will." Sarina spoke to Sora.

"You need this," Geppetto said, holding a chest. He opened the chest up, and flung it at the group with golden sparkles hitting them. "When Pinocchio used it, he started to jump higher than normal."

"Thanks man," May said in gratitude. She patted Sora's shoulder. "Come on, we have a troublesome kid to save."

Summoning his keyblade, Sora looked at it with a pained expression on his face.

He was going to fight his friend and for the first time, it wasn't in a playful manner.

* * *

They went even further into the body of the whale, no matter how disgusting it was. While it always felt good to release the puppies from their suffocating prison, Sora could only feel dread in his heart.

This dread grew into full blown panic when they reached the stomach through the throat, and saw Riku and Pinocchio again. The heartless from earlier was with him, bigger and looking stronger than ever. There were several platforms in the stomach, with the floor covered in digestive acid.

"Let Pinocchio go, Riku!" Sora pleaded; disturbed at the child's lifeless body slumped against the wall.

"A puppet that's lost its heart against the darkness, maybe it holds the key to helping Kairi," Riku said flatly.

"That's a child you're talking about! Do you think what're your doing is even close to being moral?" May snapped. She had enough of this. Didn't this jerk see how much he is breaking Sora's heart?

"Perhaps he is. However, Kairi is more important. Sora, let's join forces to save Kairi," Riku said as he began walking towards his former friend. "We can do it together."

Sora responded by summoned his keyblade, silently raging inside.

"What? You'd rather fight me? Over this puppet that has no heart?" Riku said, aghast. He couldn't believe how selfish Sora was being.

"He's an innocent child! Do you not understand you're talking about sacrificing a little kid? I don't if he is a puppet, he has the mind and feelings of a human boy!" May repeated, shooting daggers at Riku. "How is this going to help Kairi?"

"Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience," Sora added firmly. Jiminy hopped off May's hat and began running towards Pinocchio.

"Conscience?" Riku repeated in disbelief.

"Something you obviously don't have," May sneered.

"You may not hear it, but it's loud and clear, and it's telling me you're on the wrong side!" Sora barked.

"Then you leave me no choice," Riku said, anger boiling inside of him.

"Pinocchio! Pinocchio!" Jiminy said, jumping in front of the boy.

"Jiminy, I'm not going to make it," Pinocchio said sadly.

A bright light appeared, and Pinocchio's nose suddenly grew an inch, indicating that he was lying.

"Oh, I guess I'm okay!" The boy said joyfully, making Jiminy facepalm.

The heartless roared, making Riku flee the stomach.

The heartless lifted its body up on its arms and tried to swing its body at the group. It managed to hit Goofy and Donald, and they landed in the digestive acid. The court wizard and shield knight jumped so high at the burning pain they felt, they landed on one of the other platforms. The acid was unlike any pain they felt before. It felt like it was going right through their skin, which lucky for them, it didn't.

The heartless locked both its arms together and slammed them onto the floor, making the platforms circled the stomach, even tinier. The three teens knew that they was about to get a personal experience of what the acid felt like.

"GENIE!" The three teens collectively shrieked.

Genie appeared with reading glasses and a mahogany sweater, reading a book. _How to Adjust to Being Free After Being A Prisoner For 10,000_ _Years,_ the book read.

"Huh, well what do you know? This Walt Disney World seems like a good time," the former lamp tenant said in wonder. He shut the book and looked at the group. "What do you need this time?"

"Help us!" May begged, ducking under a swing from the heartless. The three teens jumped on three separate platforms in a panic when the heartless swung its arms around rapidly. Then it opened its mouth up and released a poisonous gas surrounding the area.

"Yikes," Genie said as he summoned a shield, "This thing is not playing around. Hmm, how do I fix it?"

He cringed as the heartless swung its body at the three teens. They all fell into the digestive acid and jumped out of it just as quickly, screaming in pain. Genie snapped his fingers three times, and the heartless suddenly stopped functioning. Its mouth fell wide open and its tentacle arms hung limp.

He looked at the teens. "Go wild, and now you kids can tell it to stop to." He disappeared back into the ruby gem in Sora's pants pocket.

The teens immediately took advantage, with May and Sora running up and getting as much hits as they could. Sarina stepped back and froze both the heartless's limbs, this time freezing up the arms so the heartless could not swing them upon regaining consciousness. Sora went the extra mile and casted a higher form of Fire into its mouth, melting the bars. At this, the heartless awoke. It tried to move its arms, but to avail. Just when it was about to unleash another poison breath, Sarina took action again.

"STOP!" She bellowed, and the heartless froze in time. She quickly casted Thunder, specifically aiming for its head. May casted the higher Fire spell, this time, melting the insides completely.

The heartless began to disappear, and a tremor shook throughout the stomach. It seems that Monstro was about to throw up.

"Run!" Donald shouted, and Pinocchio and Jiminy were the first ones out.

"Riku! Riku, where are you?" Sora called, looking around.

"There's no time for that! We need to leave NOW!" May said as she grabbed his arm.

Suddenly a great wind pushed everybody out of the stomach.

* * *

"So Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?" Riku said in worry. He and Maleficent were on a ship in another world. Kairi's lifeless body laid there on the cavern floor. If he didn't know the specific details, he would have thought she was dead. It was killing him inside. He vowed to be her knight, and yet he was already falling apart.

"Precisely," the witch said with no trace of sorrow.

"And her heart was—,"

"Taken by the heartless no doubt."

Riku turned wildly towards her. "Tell me what I could do!"

"There are maidens of the purest of heart. We call them the princesses of heart. Gather at least seven of them together, and a door will open to the heart of all worlds. Within lies untold wisdom. There, you will surely find a way to recover Kairi's heart. Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift. The power to control the Heartless!"

Maleficent opened up her robe and unleashed a gust of dark power unto Riku. His body was enveloped in green. When it was gone, Riku felt empowered, like he could take on anything. He would protect Kairi now; he had the power!

He looked at Kairi, determined.

"Soon Kairi, soon."

* * *

"You promise to be good?" Jiminy asked Pinocchio back in Traverse Town. Now Geppetto and Pinocchio had a safe home for the time being.

"Of course I will!" Pinocchio lied.

His nose instantly grew another inch.

Jiminy sighed and hopped back into Sora's hoodie. The boy would always be a troublemaker, he supposed. It was in the child's nature. At least he would be safe; at least Jiminy could sleep at night with that knowledge. Even if Pinocchio drove him mad, he still cared deeply for him. He hoped Leon and the others would protect Pinocchio and Geppetto, because they been through quite a lot already.

"So, will we see that giant space whale again?" May asked Donald. When they defeated the Parasite Cage, Monstro threw them up. Luckily, everybody was able to reach the Gummi Ship in time, and they dropped Geppetto and Pinocchio off in Traverse Town.

"Hopefully not," the court wizard grumbled. He hated being inside that whale. If they ever encountered it again, then he would definitely nuke it with his cannons.

"Here, I found this gem while exploring the whale," Pinocchio said, giving Sarina a gem.

It was baby blue in color.

"Miranda!" May called, seeing the tall brunette from the window. She was out the door immediately, leaving Donald confused.

"Who is that girl?"

"She's from our world, remember?"

"Hmph."

"Are you adjusting to staying here for the time being?" May asked the older girl.

"I guess," Miranda said while frowning. She twiddled her fingers nervously. "I mean, not really. I'm still trying to cope with the fact that everybody I love is in a permanent coma, and that our world doesn't exist, and that monsters are real but, you know, I'm coping."

"Our world will be restored when we stop whoever is the cause of all this."

"Well thanks in advance, I guess."

Miranda took a sip of tea that was on her table. She immediately gagged; the tea was so flat and bitter she wanted to throw it up immediately. Who made this? She didn't think that Aerith girl was running the restaurant today.

May saw the group walking out the house and heading towards the world exit.

"Come on, May!" Sora called for her.

"I'll see you around," the older twin said, smiling calmly. She ran up with her party members, and they headed out of the town.

Miranda looked at the departure with a small smile. She was starting to believe that they could save everybody, even at their young ages. They obviously knew what they were doing.

Then she felt a hand over her mouth, and she started to flail. Before she knew it, her vision turned black.


	9. Halloween Town

A/N Happy Halloween beautiful readers! Enjoy!

* * *

"We're going to stop here," Donald directed towards Goofy. The royal knight looked at the world wearily.

It was one of the larger worlds, but its design was rather scary. It was big pumpkin, with a black manor on top.

"Doesn't that look like Halloween Town," Sarina whispered to her twin. May observed the world heavily. "It actually does." Then May grew an excited look on her face. "So does that mean that we get to meet Jack Skellington?"

Goofy disembarked the ship into the world, and the ship's main door opened up. Suddenly a white flash hit all of them as they exited the ship.

* * *

Everybody looked around in alarm…except Donald. From the second he looked at the world, the court wizard knew he would have to cast an adaptability spell. As a young musketeer learning magic, his master had taught him that some worlds required a specific feature of its inhabitants in order for them to live on that world. In the case of this rather creepy looking town, they would need to adapt to an equally creepy aesthetic.

Such as him turning into a mummy, or a duck mummy. He looked all over his new form, seeing bandages wrapped all over his body, and it was especially tight around his head. His body was also vivisected, which meant that his upper body was separated from and floating above his lower half. The experience felt rather unnatural to him.

He looked over to Goofy who resembled Frankenstein's monster. A huge gray bolt protruded from the back of his skull, a metal cap replaced his nose and was tipped with a small pumpkin, ripped brown shoes left his toes open, and his hair turned wild all around. His clothes were faded and tattered, and his eyes were red in one eyes and green in the other.

"Dude, you…turned into a vampire!" May exclaimed, pointing at Sora.

"Huh?" The brunette replied. Sora's clothing was almost completely black and made out of faded leather, with his shoulder pads turning gray. Small, black bat wings shot out from his back. His shoes were gone, with large black and pointed shoes with grey stripes along their midsections replacing them. Black and red bandages covered up his legs. He felt his canines in his teeth grow sharper and more pointed, and white gloves covered his hands. His lightly tanned face and normally sky blue eyes was unnaturally pale, and his hair grew duller in color. His right eye was covered by an orange circular mask, with a jagged mouth, tiny horns. One eye was green, while the other appeared to be scratched out. He was turned into one of those creatures May liked to scare him about.

Sora looked at himself in horror.

"Wh-what happened to me? And what happened to YOU?" He directed accusingly at May.

The older twin looked down at her body and immediately felt the urge to throw up. Why? Because she was in a skirt. She was not a fan of skirts, felt sick at the thought of even wearing one, and hated the fact that she had to wear one everyday for school. She hasn't willingly worn a skirt since she was three. She didn't even hate the idea of skirts and dresses. It was just that they were not for her personally.

However, she slightly calmed down when she realized that it wasn't a frilly satin abomination, but instead was black piece made of metal, and it reached a bit past her knees. She was also wearing armor, her chest plate black with dark golden lining, and her shoulder pads a dark gold. Her metal gloves were gold as well, made of metal plates. A belt made of dark golden skulls was wrapped around her waist, as was as dark gold choker with a black skull was worn around her neck. A black leather cape flowed from behind the choker, with a large golden skull designed in the center. The strangest object, however, was the crown made up of black bones that she took off from her head.

"Why is there a crown on top of my head?" May asked in severe confusion. She then realized that her skin was grey in color, and her flesh was wrinkled. Was she an undead warrior or something? Queen of the Dead?

Everyone looked at Sarina, who wanted to bury herself into the ground.

Her outfit was awfully skimpy; she figured out quickly that she was supposed to be a witch. She couldn't believe that she was dressed as a _hot_ witch. She was in a satin pink blouse underneath a tight black corset with hot pink lacing. Her cuffs were pink and puffy. She was given a fluffy black miniskirt with pink ruffles at the bottom. Her pink stockings reached mid-thigh, lined with black bows on each side. She was topped off with 4 inch black heels.

She felt…naked. She wore skirts, spaghetti straps, and wedges before, but this was on another level of showing skin.

"Why? Why are we dressed like this?" She asked Donald, covering her slightly exposed cleavage.

"It's to adapt to this world," the court wizard explained. Even he was wondering how the trio's outfits came out so elaborate while he and Goofy came out so basic. It was making him feel slightly jealous.

"By looking like THIS?" May snapped, pointing at her pleated skirt, making the duck wince.

"This place sure is spooky. I'll bet the people are scary-looking too," Goofy said, chuckling nervously as he glanced at the front gate. The world seemed to be perpetually stuck at night, and tombstones, crypts, and other frightening things were scattered all over the place. The cemetery on the outskirts of the town was very, very wide.

"Don't worry. We look spooky too. If they scare us, we'll scare them, right back," Donald reassured him. May muttered something incomprehensibly in anger.

"We are going to scare them looking like this?" Sarina asked skeptically.

"I know so!" The court wizard boasted.

The front gate to Guillotine Square opened up ominously, and the group walked in. Smoke was coming out of a small black building, and four Search Ghosts popped up. Alarmed, the party summoned their weapons—

Except the heartless weren't moving. They didn't even turn on those searchlights and slowly search for them, which made the party feel sorry for them.

May walked up to one of the Search Ghosts and poked it in the head. It didn't respond.

"What's wrong with them?" She wondered aloud. It felt wrong to destroy things that weren't moving.

A large horn was blown, and as the group turned around to see the offender, and the twins recognized the offender to be the Mayor of Halloween Town.

The mayor smiled. "And now, allow me to introduce the master of terror, the king of nightmares, Jack Skellington!"

The heartless waved their hands as if they were broadway girls, and out the green fountain, The Pumpkin King rose. Triumphantly, Jack Skellington, the living skeleton, struck a pose. He was above average in length, and he wore a spooky black and white tuxedo with ruffles at the top.

"He's as cool as the movie!" May said cheerily, jumping excitedly.

"Bravo, Jack, Bravo!" The Mayor applauded. "Those ghosts will be a big hit at this year's Halloween!"

"Wait, what? What did he just say?" May whispered, incredulous.

"But their movements still need work. It's not scary enough. I want to strike bone-chilling terror. I'm going to consult the doctor."

"Then I'll go attend to the decorations!" The mayor responded cheerfully, and they both went their separate ways, not noticing the party at all.

"They're gonna…Jack wants to…did they even see what Heartless can do to a world?" May was thoroughly confused. Did the Heartless treat Halloween Town in a nicer manner than they did the other worlds? They didn't rip people's hearts out, or kill puppies, or kidnap babies? Why would Jack want them as—

Well she knew the answer to that question. Heartless were certainly scary; they would be perfect fit for a town based on Halloween, so yeah that question had an obvious answer. However, Jack might be in a bit more trouble than he can chew. _'Wouldn't be the first time he was in a situation like that,'_ she thought.

* * *

"I don't understand," Jack said, look observing the Search Ghost on the operating table. He was in Doctor Finkelstein's lab looking for a solution to the Heartless problem. As the de facto ruler of Halloween Town, it was his job to make sure every Halloween was a spooky spectacular fright show. That meant that every year must be better than the last. Other holiday towns were wary of Halloween Town(especially after that Christmas Town disaster), but it was in his and the town's nature. It was their way of life! "Maybe the guidance system was damaged in the explosion."

"Nonsense. My devices are perfect!" The Doctor argued. Jack walked over and observed a book, looking for answers. One particular line had struck a chord in him.

"Why of course! The Heartless needs a heart! Doctor, do you think you can add a heart to that device?"

"Certainly. A heart's not all that complicated. Let's get to work. To make a heart, first take a container with a lock…," the doctor pulled out a large beating heart wrapped with bandages and put it on the table. It was encased by metal bars with a keyhole in the center. "We need the key to this thing first!"

"You're really gonna unlock for it for them?" Donald asked the three teens in disbelief. They overhead Jack's plight and they wanted to help Jack shockingly. Sora especially didn't see anything wrong with it. While he was a bit freaked out over the aspect of a talking living skeleton walking around and employing heartless to some scary festival, Jack seemed to be rather friendly.

"Why not? If they succeed, we wouldn't have to fight the heartless right?" Sora explained, grinning.

"Wouldn't that be a relief, "May added, glancing at Sora.

"And wouldn't it be cool to see the Heartless dancing?" He added with an excitable grin that made something stir inside May for some reason. Or rather she knew what it was but didn't want to admit it. _'It's nothing. He has a nice smile, that's it. I'm not interested in relationships, especially not in this apocalyptic situation we're in. There's no time for boys; I'm not Angie. Besides…he has a girl back home who I bet is pretty, girly, and…and…,'_

May immediately ended her train of thought. It was heading towards a direction that she didn't like. _'Stupid brain, don't even try it.'_

"Not really," Donald answered flatly to Sora's question.

"Oh come on! Don't you want to see the Heartless do something other than trying to kill us?" May replied, glad for the opportunity to get a break for once.

"What if it doesn't work?" The court wizard asked skeptically.

"What if it does?" The older twin fired back, tapping her foot impatiently despite how heavy it was from being inside a heavy black boot. She wanted to solve this world's problem soon so she can get out of this horrid outfit out of the Twilight Zone.

* * *

The steel encased heart from earlier beat in a healthy manner as Sora lifted his keyblade from it. Jack clapped excitedly. "My! That was an amazing trick!" He then looked at the group in confusion. He and the Doctor were talking when the group suddenly just waltzed in and said they were going to help him with his heartless problem. "And you are…"

"Sora!" The brunette replied. Jack cheerfully walked up to Sora. "Well done, Sora. I would like you to be a part of this year's Halloween!"

"What is this heartless doing here?" Sora asked, pointing at the unresponsive Search Ghost on the table.

"Yeah, why isn't it trying to attack us? I'm May by the way," May added. Sarina stood quietly behind her, trying to stay quiet out of embarrassment.

"Oh, the heartless just recently came to town just recently. What's frustrating is I can't get them to dance with me," The Pumpkin king complained.

"That's because they're supposed to be ripping hearts out," May replied casually. Jack looked at her in shock for a moment.

"Really? Hmm, that doesn't seem quite friendly, even for this town. But they seem so quiet when I first saw them. Maybe, they just need some guidance? So, the Doctor and I are trying to improve the guidance system." Jack walked to where Doctor Finklestein was reading in his large lab book while a frog, spider, and other hideous animals lay on the table next to them. "He's quite a genius! Okay Doctor, continue. The ingredients for a heart: Pulse. Emotion—,"

"Terror."

"Fear."

"Hope and Despair. Mix them all together and we have a heart!"

"If it weren't for the fact that the citizens of Halloween Town were such amiable folks, I would be so creeped out right now," May whispered to Sarina, who was covering her legs. "Oh come on, Rini! It's just a little skin!"

"It's a lot of skin for me!" Sarina shouted. "Sorry," she quickly apologized at May's shocked expression.

"Those are the things you need for a heart right?" Sora asked May.

"Yeah but…I don't know. I mean, this is kinda cool though."

The Doctor wheeled over to the other side of the room where a large tube filled with bright green liquid and pulled a lever. Sparks shot off at the top and the heartless on the table was suddenly twitching rapidly at the shock. Everybody in the room looked on in anticipation.

"So this is what making Frankenstein's monster is like," May said in astonishment. The heartless continued to twitch, and Jack Skeleton thought that perhaps he was onto something actually successful.

Then the heartless collapsed back on the table.

"It failed!" The Doctor wailed. He put his finger up to his chin in thought. He took his scalp off, exposing his brain, making Donald gag in the background. "Hmm…maybe we're missing a few ingredients. Let's try adding memory. Sally? Sally! Good for nothing girl! Don't know why I bothered creating her!"

"Um…?" Jack asked awkwardly. Did the Doctor forget about the nature of his and Sally's relationship?

"Sally's got the ingredients we need!" The Doctor ignored his statement, and wheeled around to face Jack. "See if you can track her down!"

"No problem!" Jack accepted. After all, Sally was his beloved girlfriend, even if she was a worrywart. "Kids, would you like to come along?"

"A chance to accompany the great ruler of Halloween Town on his noble quest to find the ingredients for a great Halloween? We would be honored, great sir!" May said as she bowed cheerfully.

"Excellent, then!" The Pumpkin King responded happily.

May looked over to where a torn piece of paper was hanging on the bookshelf. "Where'd you get that?"

"Oh we just found it lying around here," Jack said cheerfully, taking the torn piece of paper and handing it to May. It seemed to be another torn page of 100 Acre Woods.

"We also found this thing. It was just standing out near a ledge and I picked it up," Jack added as he handed her a chest. May opened it, and Dalmatian pups appeared again and disappeared in a white light.

"Why…how…,"

"Don't ask us. We don't know," Sora replied blankly.

* * *

As the group descended from the steps, the mayor ran up Jack with a horrified look on his face.

"Jack! Jack! It's horrible! The Heartless are completely out of control! We can't stand them!" He wailed.

"I thought we were gonna get a break for once," Sora whispered to May.

"Guess not," May whispered back bitterly. It was the perks of apparently being a wielder of some mystical key that attracted heartless to it like honey.

Jack scratched his skull in thought. "Hmm…maybe our experiment triggered something. Everything will be fine mayor; you have nothing to worry about."

Donald was growing increasingly annoyed at this fool's antics. He was about to say something but Sarina shut his beak closed. "We need to stay quiet about this. Let Jack find out on his own."

Heartless suddenly appeared in the town square, with the Search Ghosts floating out of the tombstones surrounding the area. The mayor ran off screaming in the other direction.

"Oh no, they really have lost it!" Jack said in horror. To his fright, several Heartless with the appearance of mummies stalked towards the kids. Before anyone could react, Jack lifted his finger and casted Blizzara on them, freezing them.

Sora and the twins looked at him in shock.

"You know magic?" May asked, eyes widening.

"Well, spending hours in the lab with Doctor Finklestein will have you bound to learn a couple of things," the de facto ruler of Halloween Town boasted proudly. "Look out!" He said as he casted a thunder spell on a Search Ghost that was getting ready to attack Sarina. The girl squealed in fright and began rapidly shooting Thunder at the surrounding heartless.

"Can this get any cooler?" May said in excitement as she struck down another heartless. First Tarzan, then Aladdin, and now Jack Skellington? She was fighting alongside her childhood idols! Now if only she could team up with her favorite Disney character, Peter Pan!

When all the heartless in the area were destroyed, a tiny ghost dog appeared out of a tombstone. He floated happily towards Jack, his owner.

"Zero! Have you seen Sally anywhere?" The Pumpkin King asked in hope. The ghost dog barked and flew to a large gargoyle, where a large rag doll hid. "Oh dear," she said with a soft and feminine voice. She rose, and it was clear that unlike most rag dolls, she was sentient and tall with rusty red hair that flowed past her back. "Jack is there something wrong?" She asked, her eyes immediately filling with worry.

"No! Everything's going great," he lied, "We're going to have the best Halloween ever! All we need now is your memory!"

Sally innocently pulled out some dead flowers from behind her. "Memory? You mean this?"

"Yeah that!" Jack said in happiness as he grabbed the dying flowers. When he got the heartless in control, this would be the best Halloween ever!

Unfortunately for him, his sweetheart did not feel the same way. Though she loved Jack, he seemed to have a penchant for developing plans that ended up in disaster, like the Christmas Town incident. Jack (and the rest of the town for that matter) always brushed off her concerns until it was too late.

"Jack, I have a bad feeling about this. Why don't you try something else? There's still time left."

Once again, Jack did not listen to her worries.

"Nothing could beat what I've got planned! Once we give the heartless a heart, they'll dance just as I envisioned it!"

 _'It's like trying to get Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface to put down their killing equipment and do the Cupid Shuffle. This situation has no positive outcome,'_ May lamented in her mind. She wished Jack would listen to Sally for once. It reminded her of Angie's borderline obsession with trying to make Michael Myers sympathetic in her fanfics by amplifying his horrible childhood. Some creatures were just doomed from birth.

"Trust me. You're going to love it!" Jack pleaded. "Follow us out of the area and see for yourself!"

As Sally and Zero watched the party walk out of the area, three children peered from underneath a coffin and cackled impishly. Each was dressed up as a devil, a witch, and a skeleton. When it was safe to get out without being seen, the children jumped out.

"Lock! Shock! Barrel!" They each said as they hopped out of the stone coffin.

"Did you hear that?" The one dressed as a witch spoke out.

"Yeah, I sure did! A heart! What should we do?" The one dressed as a devil responded.

"Gosh! You really are stupid! Isn't it obvious? Tell Oogie Boogie." The little witch grinned mischievously from underneath her mask and the other two smirked as well.

* * *

"Yes this it. Just one more ingredient; we need a "surprise" to finish the heart. The mayor should know where it is." The Doctor examined.

"Surprise? What kind of answer is that?" May asked, annoyed at the situation. It was just like Wonderland where they had to look for these ridiculous pieces of evidence that in the end, was all for nothing.

An hour later, the three children from earlier were cowering as their boss cackled heinously.

He was Oogie Boogie, a large and sentient burlap sack made up of various insects, two spiders, and a snake for a tongue. He was essentially the Boogeyman of every little child's nightmares and the only resident of Halloween Town that was truly rotten to the core. He was vicious in his devious plans to spread soul-crushing fear to the town's residents, and even tried to torture and cook the beloved Santa Claus from Christmas Town into snake and spider stew. He loved gambling with others' fates, even humans, which was strictly forbidden in the town's moral code.

"A heart? That bonehead Jack is really making a heart? Well I'll be jiggered! That works for me! Ohh, when I get my hands on that…Well, I've got no hands, but I'm still gonna nab that heart and control the heartless!"

Jack Skeleton thought he was rid of him last year, but as long as there is fear for the Boogeyman, Oogie Boogie will live on forever.

* * *

"It's cold here. Like really cold here. How do you guys stand it?" May asked Jack as they eradicated the last bit of heartless. Like Donald and Sarina, Jack preferred using magic instead of directly fighting their enemies. It also meant that like Donald and Sarina, Jack would have to keep a safe distance from enemies.

May was shivering in her armor as they looked for the components of the heart. She knew logically that a town full of zombies, ghosts, skeletons, and demons would cause the air to be less than warm, but the air was sharp in its chilliness.

"Well I've been in this town for as long as I could remember so it doesn't bother me. The only time I shiver is from the sheer fright I can give this town on Halloween! You should see Christmas Town. It's like the town is stuck in a perpetuate state of freeze!" Jack explained, cheerily.

"Well I wish I was in a warmer outfit." She glared at Donald with that statement.

"Hey! I can't control what the adaptability spell gives you! Don't blame me!"

Sora took a deep breath for what he was about to say. He hoped he wasn't going to screw up with this statement. "Well I think you look cool," he complimented as he stood next to her.

May tilted her head. "Really?"

He nodded, looking down at the ground in awkwardness. For some reason, talking to girls was getting to be…uncomfortable for him, at least it was with Kairi and May.

She grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks Babyface! I think you look rather awesome in that vampire get up as well. Black really suits you for some reason."

"Thanks, even though I don't know what a vampire is."

She then leaned into his ear. "They're scary, pale folks who like to suck blood as an appetite. They hate the sun and reside in coffins. Perhaps that's your inner desire. To suck blood," she teased.

Sora looked disgusted. "No way. Is it your inner nature to be a princess?"

May scoffed. "Hell no."

"Kids, if we jump through here, we'll end up in the boneyard. I suggest we go there," Jack while pointing to a coffin..

They all hopped in one by one.

* * *

When they reached the bone yard, the mayor was there, looking at a tombstone. Jack informed him of the first ingredient they found.

"Hmm, surprise? Well ghosts come out of this tombstone. Check the order in which they appear. If you get it wrong, then you're in for a surprise!"

"It wouldn't involve pumpkin bombs getting thrown in our faces, right?" May asked, suspiciously. The mayor only gave her an ominous smile.

She mumbled some rather colorful words and looked the tombstones lined up in a row. The first ghost flown out, the second, then the third, and finally the fourth. May was pretty awful at these kinds of games, so she looked at Sarina to answer it for her. Sarina silently pointed her fingers rapidly at each tombstone she saw a ghost fly out of.

A rumble shook through the bone yard as a giant pumpkin in the middle of the yard blew up, spraying chunks all over the party.

"Ugh!" Sora said in disgust. He hoped the Gummi Ship contained showers.

"Splendid!" The mayor clapped. "Now look at the pumpkin!"

"It's a Jack-In-The-Box!" Jack examined as he went over and picked the chest up. A toy clown popped up from within the box.

"Now we got the ingredients to complete the heart!" Sora said merrily.

"We'll be seeing those dancing heartless soon!" May agreed excitedly.

* * *

The Doctor held up the heart, which now contained all the ingredients. ""There you go. This should work."

He wheeled around to the operating table, only to be tripped by Barrel, who had jumped in front of his pathway. The heart soared over to Lock, who had grabbed it. With Shock and Barrel following him, the three imps hightailed it out of the lab.

"Those kids are up to no good again!" Jack added in anger. Now was not the time for Oogie's little henchman to cause trouble!

"The nerve of those little hooligans, stealing my work!" Doctor Finklestein hissed. Back in his day, children didn't feel the need to steal from their elders.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get them!" Sora said in determination.

* * *

The imps trailed up the curly hill in the graveyard in a bathtub. The tip of the hill uncurled to the pathway to Oogie's Manor.

The boss would be pleased when he saw that they snatched up the heart. He would give them a bunch of treats and NOT eat them.

The small children collectively giggled at the thought.

* * *

The party ran past the gates to the manor and Jack glared daggers at it. "I knew Oogie Boogie was behind this!"

"Yo-you m-mean he's still alive?" Sarina asked in horror, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to say such a thing.

"But he's supposed to be dead!" May forgot to not say such a thing as well. Sora, Donald, and Goofy gave the twins a confused look.

The Pumpkin King frowned deeply. "I thought so as well. Then I realized that as long as children fear the Boogeyman, Oogie will never truly die. Fear is a powerful force; as long as humans feel fear, it will never go away."

"Like that Freddy Krueger guy you told me about once?" Sora whispered to May. She nodded grimly.

"So it looks like Oogie needs to be stopped again," May responded. She looked at the Manor. It was dilapidated, ugly, and disturbing in its design. _'Perfect for a torturing psychopath like Oogie Boogie.'_

"Do we have to take this bridge to the manor?" Sarina asked fearfully while she glanced at the bridge.

It looked old and rickety and ready to collapse, which given that it was located very high on a platform didn't spell too well for those afraid of heights. Down below seemed to be a deep abyss, with a river to accompany it. And the bridge itself didn't seem to hold up well, several pieces had already fallen out.

The layout reminded her of Deep Jungle, which was not a happy reminder.

"Oh it doesn't look too bad!" Jack answered as if there was nothing wrong with a dilapidated bridge.

"Yeah, I mean since you're already dead and all!" Donald replied sarcastically.

Jack folded his arms. "All you have to do is walk on the ledges that isn't broke off, which is ¾ of them! Come on, you can do it!"

He quickly dashed over the bridge with no issue, reaching the other without even tripping once.

The group looked at him warily. Taking a deep breath, Sora carefully walked on the broken platform, taking very slow steps with his walking. Eventually, he made it to the other side without falling. Goofy and Sarina followed, each trying their hardest not to look down.

The last two left were Donald and May. Donald stuck his nose in the air. "I'm not—," May grabbed and hoisted him over her shoulder. Without thinking she dashed over the bridge with a squealing duck in tow. When she set him down, the duck was flailing all over the ground, even kissing it. She rolled her eyes as she took her place next to Sora.

They began their trek up the manor, which was filled with flimsy ledges asking somebody to fall to a very violent death. It was also booby trapped in several areas, with birdcages and metal jaws ready to snap on an intruder.

At each birdcage, a heartless appeared, and the group had to make the very dangerous decision of either trying to flee from them or risk falling by fighting them.

Eventually at the top, they reached a door. Jack shoved it open, and Lock, Shock, and Barrel were giggling mischievously together. The little kids spotted them and tried their best to do combat with them but Jack defeated them with one action.

"ARRAWGH!" He roared at the children, striking a fearful pose. The children screamed and bolted out of the playroom as if it was on fire. He looked over to find the heart, and sighed deeply when he found it wasn't there. They really did need to confront Oogie.

"I know where his torture chamber is. Follow me," he ordered fiercely to the group.

* * *

When they entered the disturbingly bright and colorful torture chamber that eerily resembled a Gothic roulette table, Oogie Boogie was on the other side of the room.

"Oogie Boogie, give me back the heart!" Jack commanded at the giant burlap sack.

The Boogeyman grinned evilly and teasingly hid the heart behind his back. "You want it? Well then come on over and get it!"

He promptly shoved the heart down his throat as Jack looked in terror.

"He-he just up and ate it! What's going to happen to him?" Sora tugged on Jack's sleeve for an answer. Oogie bellowed in laughter. "Now let's see if I can get their attention. Oh Heartless!"

He held his arms out waiting for a huge swarm of heartless to fly in…only to have two appear at his arms.

"This is it?" He asked himself. Then he grew into a deep and murderous rage. "Nobody disrespects me! NOBODY!" With all his might, he picked up a giant pumpkin and threw it at the group, the pumpkin exploding on contact.

The group collectively yelled as they fell onto the roulette table, and it spun. A deathly game of chance has begun.

Oogie skipped around the room, his first move being to throw explosive dice onto the room.

"Argh!" May yelped as she narrowly dodged one. Another one hit Donald to the face, making the duck hit the ground on the back. She casted Aero on herself and then went to help Sora and Jack, who were having a rather unfortunate dance with the dice. All three were soon enclosed with a gate made up of sharp spikes.

"Gates? Are you serious?" She snapped at the cackling Oogie.

"Kill them!" He ordered to the two flying heartless that did come to him. The flying gargoyles flew towards the trio with killing intent in their eyes.

"No!" Sarina shouted as she casted Thundara on one, killing it instantly. Oogie hissed and rolled another set of dice, revealing a spinning saw. He directed the saw right at Sarina, who paled. She rolled out of the way as the saw zipped past in her seconds, nearly bisecting her in the process.

Goofy flung his shield to other Gargoyle that was attacking the gates. It flew back to his hand instantly, with an angry Gargoyle in tow. It swooped in to claw at him, only to be held off by Donald, who regained consciousness. He incinerated the heartless with Fira.

Pulling down a lever, Oogie spun the table around again, making May, Sora, and Jack slam into the gates. They moaned in pain, with each of them getting a cut.

"Why don't you hop off that platform and fight us?" Sora demanded in anger.

"Then it wouldn't be a game, wouldn't it?" Oogie sneered. "It's every winner for himself!"

"Please Oogie, stop this! You don't have to be this way!" Jack pleaded.

"Sorry, I'm quite past the line of redemption!" Was the Boogeyman's response.

"And to think I thought you were lowkey cool when I was a kid," May mumbled to herself. It seems that Oogie decided to trap the most offensive opponents in the metal gates so they couldn't fight. _'Cheating asshole.'_

Oogie rolled some more dice, and they landed on three cowboys. The three stone cowboys in the room raised their pistols to May, Jack, and Sora. They collectively fired a shot, each managing to hit the trio.

"OW! What the hell?" May shrieked as she rubbed the wound on her arm where the bullet hit her. Wasn't Aero supposed to lessen the pain? Sora whimpered as he fished for a potion.

The table spun around again, making him drop it on the ground. The bottle shattered into millions of pieces. Once again, he yelped in pain as his back hit the gates.

"I don't like this game," he muttered. "Cure!" He casted on the three of them. A green light enveloped them and healed all their wounds.

"Bwahhaha! You fools might as well give up! The game's over and I'm the winner!" Oogie taunted as he flung another set of dice at them.

"You sure about that?" May roared as she deflected the dice back at the Boogeyman. He stumbled back, and he accidently hit a button…that lifted them up to the platform he was at. At finally getting the opportunity to slash him, something bright triggered inside May, and she lunged at him with great speed.

"Get back!" Oogie ordered in slight fear, but it was futile. May got in several slashes in at him, cutting holes in his sack, before he knocked her off. Sora casted Fira at him, making him run around the room in flames.

Grabbing another lever, Oogie pulled it down. As the trio tried to run after him, another gate quickly popped in their path, blocking him off from them.

"Stop cheating! Fight us!" May demanded, pulling at the gates. Oogie pressed another button, and a tri-bladed knife dropped down and began to bounce around the table. May watched as Sarina, Donald, and Goofy scrambled to run away from the blade, which was seemingly directing it's attacking towards one of them.

"Oh you wanna attack them, huh? Well try this!' "THUNDER!" May bellowed loudly as the lightning strike came upon Oogie Boogie. The burlap sack screamed as he was being electrocuted. More and more of his insects were tumbling out of his body. The gate dissipated, and the trio ran towards him. With one last strike from Jack, the burlap keeled over as he tumbled to the ground. Thousands upon thousands of bugs crawled out of his body, even the two spiders and the snake.

When the three of them jumped down to meet with the other three, only a lone cockroach remained. Sarina picked up a floating piece of paper that flew down from the upper platform. "Ansem's Report #7", it read.

"So, that heart was a failure after all," Jack lamented. Every time he wanted to make a particularly memorable Halloween, it always failed.

"Oh Jack, it's alright," May tried to comfort the Pumpkin King but he just sadly began to walk out of the chamber.

He was such a fool.

* * *

As the party started to walk along the bridge back to Moonlight Hill, a tremor shook through the area. May instantly clung to Sora, who stumbled onto Jack. "Huh?" He said, looking at the fog surrounding Oogie's Manor. When the fog subsided, a rather terrifying sight stood in its place.

Oogie Boogie had fused with his manor, his entire body encasing it.

"Holy crap!" May exclaimed, looking at the six large purple blobs that was placed all over Oogie's Manor. This was the creepiest sight she had seen in her life.

"Whoa! How did he get so big?" Sora asked his eyes as wide as saucers.

"Look! It's brimming with the power of darkness! Oogie Boogie is drawing power from those dark globs!" Jack pointed.

"So we just have to destroy them right?" Sora responded.

"Yeah, but I think Mr. Boogeyman's soul is not going to make it simple for us," May lamented, looking at the way Oogie's eyes just glowed a deep crimson.

Sora jumped down to the ground, which was not as bad as it looked earlier, and ran to destroy the first glob. A heartless appeared to stop him, but with one Blizzard spell, the heartless was frozen. Sora destroyed it, and then along with May, began trekking up the house to destroy the rest of the globs.

The globs were everywhere, along with Oogie's swinging bird cages—which were on fire.

If he couldn't kill them in the torture chamber, then he was bent on killing them here. Heartless were suddenly appearing along the blue every time one of the party was destroying a glob, and black globs of darkness were hopping onto their backs. When Donald went to destroy the last blob, a stream of fire jetted out from Oogie's body, and the duck fell down squalling. He was caught by May, who nonchalantly incinerated the last blob.

The Oogie-infused manor disappeared in a bright light, and the keyhole to Halloweentown appeared. It seemed to glow in the direction of the moon, so without thinking, Sarina directed her keyblade to the big yellow moon in the sky, and the keyhole was sealed.

"So now what?" May asked.

"I have to talk to the Doctor about my failure," Jack said sorrowfully, his black and empty eye sockets drooping.

"Oh Sally, why didn't I listen to you?" Jack lamented to Sally. He honestly didn't understand why she put up with him.

Smiling comfortingly, Sally took his hands. "It's alright Jack. Next year, we'll come up with a greater plan for Halloween. We'll do it together."

He gave her hand a firm squeeze in return, and then he turned to the rest of the party with a sad look on his face.

"I guess we have no choice. We'll have to cancel the Heartless Halloween festival for now."

"Aw," May and Sora whined together.

"But I wanted to see the Fat Bodies try to dance," May lamented.

"I'm truly sorry. Visit us next year! We'll have the scariest Halloween ever!" Jack said in encouragement. He then rubbed his chin in thought.

"Emotion, Memory, we put in all the necessary ingredients. What else do you need to make a heart? What is a heart, anyway? I can't figure it out," he pondered.

A Jack-In-The-Box suddenly popped open and scared Donald into Goofy's arms. The duck screamed for about 15 seconds, making Sora and May fall over in laughter.

Well I guess that's a good place to start!" Jack said in a cheerful manner.

* * *

 _Ansem's Report #7_

I am studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic to the touch, and when two pieces are combined, they bond easily. None of the records even mention such a substance. Was it introduced to this world when I opened the door? I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world... I wish I could soar off and find out! Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow. But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place


	10. Atlantica

"So what do you think of Halloween Town?" Sora asked May as the latter chewed on a banana she picked up in the fridge. Recently there was a turkey leg in there that she and Sora fought over, only for Donald to order out of exasperation that it be given to Sarina, who quietly enjoyed it in another seat.

"Halloweentown is awesome! I mean it's a Halloween themed town, how could it not be cool? You should see how we celebrate Halloween on my world."

"It couldn't be better than a week-long festival, could it?"

May gave him a confused look. "You know what Halloween is?"

"Uh yeah? We celebrate it every year. We celebrate Christmas and Valentine's Day too if you're wondering. Why wouldn't we know about it?"

"Cause' y'all are from another world. I wouldn't expect y'all to have the same traditions as we do on Earth."

"Well we do. In fact, Halloween is Kairi's favorite holiday."

He rubbed the back of his head. "You know, I think Kairi would like you," he added.

"Really? Why?" She asked.

"She's a tomboy like you. Very kind, friendly, and down to earth. It's why Riku and I took to her so quickly. She just has this air of brightness and joy that is contagious," he explained. "I think the same of you."

May fought the urge to blush at the compliment. "Oh. Well now you got me excited to meet her. Hopefully she's not like your friend Riku, Mr. PissyPants."

"PissyPants?"

"Well yeah! I mean, all he did is piss and moan about you being a bad friend when it's obviously not true!"

Sora sighed. "You know what? At least it's not 'Babyface'."

"What? Babyface, that nickname is so accurate!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is n—,"

"Look at that world!" Goofy pointed out, grabbing the attention of the two bickering teens to the front of the ship.

The world in front of them was shrouded completely in water and covered by a rocky surface. A white-gold aquatic palace was visible from where they were standing.

Donald pulled the lever to put the ship into landing mode. "Okay guys. Prepare for landing."

Sora and May looked at him like he transformed into a mummy again.

"Land where? In the sea? We'll drown!" Sora barked. While growing up on an island basically required him to know how to swim, there was no way he would last in the ocean that long.

"What you going to do? Turn us into merfolk?" May added sarcastically. She knew that the world in front of her was Atlantica from The Little Mermaid, but she didn't know if that world was particularly safe to disembark in.

"Why of course! With my magic, you don't need to worry about anything. Leave it to me!"

* * *

Soon they splashed into the world of Atlantica, where fishes swam around them as they submerged completely into the oceanic water.

Not being a good swimmer, Sarina immediately flailed about and grasped for air until she realized something.

Her legs were gone and in their place was a large deep pink fishtail. Her chest was covered up by a light pink top that felt like it was made up of fish skin. At least it wasn't a seashell bra. She didn't like to admit it but a tiny seashell bra would not be an appropriate article of clothing for her, um, chest size.

May had totally forgotten about how…er blessed she was in the chest department until she noticed that Sora, having his lower body replaced with the tail of a blue dolphin, was looking anywhere but her. His bareback was facing her and was notably tinted a bright red.

 _'Oh come on! Not him too!'_ May thought in annoyance as she looked her new dark blue fishtail. She once had a lot of male friends in school until she hit puberty and they started to her differently. Sora was not like that. He treated like every other person. That's why she liked him….

….As a friend. That's right! A friend! What else could he possibly be for her?

"Sora! Look at me!" She barked at him, and for some reason, he immediately turned at the command. _'She never calls me by my name,'_ he thought.

"Sorry, I'm—,"

"No need to make this more awkward than it already is," she replied flatly. She then glanced at Donald and Goofy, who quite frankly looked like those freaky animal combinations off the Syfy channel.

Donald's entire lower half of his body was replaced with the legs of an octopus, and Goofy's entire body with the exception of his head had turned into the body of a turtle. They looked so weird she was considering writing to the SyFy channel about new ideas for their trashy movies.

"Ductopus and Dogturtle; that spell of yours is real interesting Donald," she remarked to the court knights.

"I wanted to be a mermaid," Donald replied bitterly, looking at the three teens. Why do they keep getting the good costumes?

From a nearby tunnel, a mermaid with pale skin, ruby red and wavy hair, aqua blue eyes, red lips, and a sea green tail of a tropical fish swam rapidly with a yellow and blue striped flounder at her side.

"Come on Sebastian!" She called to a tiny, red crab that pathetically swam behind her.

"Wait, Ariel!" He pleaded in a thick Jamaican accent. He then accidentally ran into Donald, and then shrieked and swam frantically back to Ariel. The mermaid observed the party and smiled.

"Relax Sebastian," the mermaid giggled, "They don't look like one of them. Right Flounder?"

"I don't know. There's something strange about them," the young fish said as he eyed them critically.

"What do you mean?" Sora said, chuckling nervously.

Ariel decided to take a closer look at them.

"They do seem a little…different," Ariel noted as she circled Sora, making May feel uncomfortable for some reason. "Where are you from?"

 _'Is it because I'm black?'_ May had to wonder. _'I mean, are there any black mermaids at all in Denmark?'_

"The Mediterranean Sea," May replied quickly.

"What she said," Sora agreed, not knowing of any seas other than his own. "We're not really used to these waters." He continued to chuckle nervously until May elbowed him to stop.

"Oh I see. Well Sebastian can show you how we swim in these waters."

At that suggestion, the Jamaican crab began to complain.

"King Triton will not like this!" He warned as the teenage mermaid rolled her eyes.

"It'll be alright Sebastian, don't worry." Sometimes Sebastian can be such a worrywart.

"Easy for you to say!" The crab barked. He was supposed to be the royal advisor to the king and caretaker of his children and failing to keep the king's daughters out of trouble will land him in hot water. For an especially stubborn princess such as Ariel, his job was an absolute nightmare all day. He coughed and turned his attention onto the group. "Okay it's time you learn how to swim properly. Turn your body to move around, lift your body to rise, and dip down to dive. Try to tag Flounder."

The party members did as he told, successfully swimming to Flounder each time.

"Alright. Now time for self de—,"

"Sebastian!" Ariel interrupted in fear, pointing to a group of jellyfish heartless that was coming from the tunnel. She swam into another tunnel as fast as possible.

"Sorry, class is over! Good luck!" Sebastian stated as he and Flounder hid inside a clam.

"Great. Leave us behind to die," May sarcastically said as she summoned her keyblade. She slashed at one of the heartless, only for it to swing its tentacles at her face. Out of anger, she spun around rapidly, slamming into the heartless, killing it instantly.

"Fira!" Sora exclaimed as he destroyed another one that was creeping up behind her.

"What? We can cast Fira?" May asked in confusion.

Sora shrugged. "Beats me."

Sarina and Donald used Thundara on the rest of the heartless, destroying them instantly due to the power of electricity underwater.

 _'Wow. I want to do that,'_ Ariel thought in admiration. She has been a sheltered princess for years since her mother died. She was always surrounded by guards or Sebastian, and forbidden to swim past the palace's limits. If she could defend herself, then maybe her dad wouldn't be on her tail all the time. _'If I could have freedom from at least that then I would savor it for a lifetime!'_ She thought.

Hearing no more noise, Sebastian and Flounder crawled out of the clam shell and swam back towards Ariel.

"You guys have a Heartless problem too?" Sora asked.

"Every world has a heartless problem at this point!" May replied.

Ariel nodded. "Those creatures chased us here. It's been non-stop attacks from them for a couple of weeks. So far, they've only been around the outskirts of the palace."

"Oh no! Those monsters might be heading for the palace too!" Sebastian panicked. Such a thing would be bad, very bad, and King Triton could have his head.

Ariel shared the crab's worrying. "We'd better head back right away!"

"But, what if we run into more on our way back?" Flounder asked fearfully. He always relied on Ariel to protect him but those monsters were too much, even for her.

Ariel smiled regrettably. "I'm sorry, but we need your help. Please come to the palace with us. The trident markers on the wall point the way there. We won't get lost as long as we follow them," she pleaded.

"Couldn't possibly be because of a far too curious princess, couldn't it?" Sebastian murmured dryly, earning a glare from the little mermaid.

"Are we going to get super interrogated by the King when we arrived?" May asked.

"Definitely," Ariel responded sheepishly.

"Yeesh, this will not be pretty."

* * *

Entering the Undersea Valley was one of the grandest experiences May had ever experienced. While she could feel hollow traces of being cold in the water, her new body mostly brushed it off. Having the lower body of a fish was drastically different than being a undead warrior...queen or whatever; she was still getting used to having no legs and having to swim, a skill she didn't particularly have.

The valley was deep and vast. Dozens of tropical fish of all sizes, shapes, and colors swam in schools all around them, considering them just another group of fish. Some of them did glance at Donald and Goofy, wondering just what the hell they were supposed to be. Majority of the fish took a couple of seconds to greet the royal princess and the king's royal advisor.

The trident markers pointed them downwards to tunnel that seemed to be filled with strong currents.

"This is the Calm Depths. It's really easy to get up in the currents here, so let's be careful guys," Ariel warned.

For a tunnel called the "Calm Depths", it was very NOT calm. When they entered the depths, May was immediately slammed into Sora and was swept up violently due to the currents. However the sequence ended as soon as it began, with the party landing into a new area…with its own current.

Being forced up in strong currents while turning into a mermaid was not something Sora had experienced as he grew up in Destiny Islands, but then again, before two weeks ago, his life was pretty normal.

As the group traveled through the Undersea Grove, Sora decided he wanted to speak to Ariel. Of all the people he met from other worlds, Ariel was the most interesting of them all. She had a fishtail and could breathe underwater!

"So how come you're not at your dad's palace, safe and sound?" He asked the princess as he swam next to her.

Ariel narrowed her eyes. "Safe and sound is a prison for me. My dad, the king, is always so strict on my sisters and I. We're never allowed to go too far out of the palace unless accompanied by a guard, and we're not even allowed a piece of quiet before we realize that we're being watched." She sent a frown towards Sebastian's way, who was unaware of the slight. "Up until recently, we couldn't even listen to music! And living in Atlantica is like living in a huge bubble. Nothing from the outside world is allowed in."

"Sounds awful," he comforted. She nodded in agreement. "Wait, why was music banned from your world?"

"It's because of what...what happened to my mom," Ariel with hint of melancholy to her voice. Seeing her pained facial expression made Sora not want to press further. He had a feeling about what happened to Ariel's mother.

Ariel's attitude had shifted entirely. She sighed. "She was crushed by a ship trying to save a music box my father had given her. He took it very hard and banned music for years as a result. While I think he's finally accepted her death, it's just—my dad is still very overprotective of his daughters, you know? He thinks that I or one of my sisters is going to wind up dead, especially me since I look the most like my mother. He's especially overprotective with me. I get why my dad wants to protect me but it feels suffocating, especially since I'm not even the heir to the throne! He treats me like I'm still a little girl; like he can keep me locked up forever. He doesn't understand that I want to see more than Atlantica, the ocean, and even the world. I don't want to be some cooped up princess in a palace. I want to see more! I'm the seventh in line, what else is there for me to do? He can at least allow the explore the world! He can give me that right."

 _'She reminds of Riku,'_ Sora thought, amazed by her words. _'And Kairi too.'_ ' Ariel might be an underwater princess with a fishtail, but she had strong desires to explore just like his best friends. _'Wonder what it's like, being a royal. Locked up in a palace and with the guards being your only friends.'_

As the two of them continued to chat away about small nothings, May watched the scene with a mixture of surprise, confusion, and to her astonishment, fear. _'Wow, they are hitting it off very well,'_ she noted. _'Of course, Sora and I became friends quickly too.'_ She observed Sora looking at Ariel with sparkles in his eyes. His big blue eyes were filled with wonder and awe at the shimmering mermaid. _'Has he ever looked at me like that?'_ She wondered. Was she able to be looked at in such a way? After all, Princess Ariel was considered the most attractive Disney Princess for a reason. _'I mean, look at me. The only more interesting thing about me is my hair, everything is just normal while Ariel has bright poofy red hair, big blue eyes, and a perfect hourglass figure. Plus she's a freaking mermaid! What do I have to offer?'  
_  
Sora and Ariel laughed about something that Sora said, and May felt her heart sinking, which sent her into a panic. At this point she knew EXACTLY what it was, and it was getting harder to deny it. _'No, I can't. I can't have feelings for him! He's obviously has a thing for his best friend; I'm just temporary until the worlds are fixed. He's not mine and he'll never be mi—wait, what the hell is wrong with me? Since when do I get all worked up over a boy? I'm being such an id-'_

She hadn't noticed that they were swimming along the walkway to the palace until she ran headfirst into a pillar. Nobody noticed. She took a couple of seconds to moan painfully before observing the pathway.

It was large, colorful, and beautiful with different clam shells in different colors and a big, hollow conch shell. The palace that was in their line of vision was radiant and grand, shimmering like white-gold.

A sea-green heartless dressed in a diving suit with a trident suddenly popped up in front of Sora. Before it could attack, Ariel slammed it away with her tail with great force. Sora followed by casting thunder, destroying it. They hi-fived each other excitedly.

"Wow! Who knew I could do that?" The little mermaid said out of amazement. Sora smiled sweetly at her. "That must be a really powerful tail of yours. You could probably do more, especially since we make such a great team!"

 _'I doubt it. I mean, Ariel is a princess with no combat experience from what I've seen. That was just a lucky slam,'_ May thought.

May knew, subconsciously, that she was being irrational and that jealousy leads to poor decisions. After all, Ariel would just be an ally, just like Tarzan, Hercules, Aladdin, and Jack. And she'll meet and fall in love with Eric just like in the original movie.

Nothing to be worried about here.

* * *

The group entered the Throne Room, where King Triton sat majestically on his royal seat. He was intimidating in appearance, with a hardened body, long snowy white hair, and big burly arms. A golden crown sat on his head, and a long golden trident rested in his arms in case he wanted to attack.

The king noticed a trio of heartless ready to attack Ariel from behind and he electrocuted them without lifting his trident. Ariel gaped at him, but he just stared sternly in response. "That was a close one. As long as I have my trident, I will not tolerate those creatures inside my palace!"

"Daddy I—,"

"Oh Ariel! When will you listen to me? It's dangerous out there!" He scolded, making the princess wince. "Strange creatures lurk outside." He directed his remark towards the group, making them swim back in nervousness.

Sebastian took this time to now introduce the king. He cleared his breath. "Behold, you swim before the ruler of the seas, King Triton!"

"And who are they?" Triton demanded.

Before Sebastian could answer, Ariel spoke up. "They helped us fight off those creatures," she explained.

"They don't look familiar to me," the king huffed. "What ocean do you come from anyway?"

"We're from an ocean very far away," Sora responded quickly.

"And what is your purpose to come to Atlantica?"

"We're here to find to find the keyhole," Goofy casually answered, and Donald turned white as a sheet. "Keyhole?" The king hissed as if he heard of it before, which sent off alarms in the teens' heads.

"What's that?" Ariel asked innocently.

"It's a—,"

"There's no such thing! Certainly not here!" The king snapped rudely.

"But Daddy—,"

"Ariel, not another word! You are not to leave the palace. Is that clear?" The king commanded his daughter. Ariel glared at him and swam away, with the group following her.

Triton sighed and rested his head on his hand out of doubt. He could never win with his youngest daughter. "Perhaps I'm being too strict. I'm just concerned for her safety."

Sebastian tried his best to comfort the king. "Of course, Your Majesty. But I must admit, now I'm quite curious about this keyhole," he dared to reply.

"That need not concern you Sebastian. Have you anything to report?"

The crab paled as he gathered his next statement. This report was going to send the kingdom into a panic when word about it spread...

"Just as you suspected, Your Majesty, they seem to coming from Ursula's Grotto."

"I knew it!" Triton barked. "That sea witch is up to no good again. I see exile from the palace has taught her nothing!"

"Yes, she poses serious danger," the royal advisor replied nervously.

"And I told you to keep Ariel away from such danger, did I not?"

Sebastian backed away, frightened at the tongue lashing he was going to get.

"Your Majesty, please. I uh...um…"

"FIND HER!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

* * *

Ariel swam at such a fast pace, the group was struggling to keep up. They were back at the Undersea Gorge.

"Hey! I know you're mad at your old man, but will you slow down a bit?" May called. Ariel complied, and stopped.

May caught up to her first. Ariel folded her arms in annoyance. "I just can't believe him! I'm fifteen years old! I can take care of myself!"

"To an extent. You have no weapons, you know no magic, and you can sometimes incapacitate a heartless with your tail. That limited combat experience can be very fatal, especially for a young princess such as you. I can understand His Majesty's concern."

"Then teach me!" Ariel begged her, grabbing May's shoulders and shaking her desperately. "Teach me to protect myself!" She let her go and looked at an entrance below. "Follow me," she ordered her and the rest of the party.

The entrance led to a grotto filled with all kinds of trinkets and treasures—seemingly from the outside world.

"This is my own personal grotto. Look at all the wonderful things Flounder and I collected," Ariel smiled proudly as she floated upwards, "I think it's from the outside world. Someday, I'm going to see what's out there."

Once again, Sora was reminded of his best friends, which left a bittersweet feeling in his stomach.

"I want to see other worlds. Does that sound strange?"

 _'We did too, and look what happened,'_ Sora nearly said out of bitterness, but he couldn't bring himself too, because a part of him felt glad that he was seeing other worlds, even if it was under horrible circumstances. He couldn't knock Ariel for desiring to see something different when he and his friends wanted to for years. "No, not at all. I used to feel the same way," he replied wistfully instead.

"Used to?"

"I mean…I still do. It's just, um, never mind."

Ariel looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, and then she remembered what Goofy had mentioned earlier. "Hey, why don't we try looking for that Keyhole you were talking about?"

Sora widened his eyes out of hope. She would really help even after her father forbade it? "But your father said—"

"Oh, he treats me like a little girl!" Ariel said while scowling. "He never wants to let me do anything! He just—He just doesn't understand!"

Little did anyone know, Sebastian was listening in on this entire conversation. The king was not going to like this, not at all.

Ariel swam out of her grotto with vigor. "Come on!" She called. The group exchanged worrying looks with one another, wondering what would happen if King Triton found out about this. Do they do beheadings under the sea? Nervously they followed her out the grotto.

No sooner they all left, two eels slithered into the grotto with devious intent in their minds.

* * *

"Hah! Those impudent fools will never find the keyhole! But that girl could prove useful, and I got the Heartless on my side. Triton, my old friend, your day is coming," and with that statement, Ursula cackled as she watched the group form her crystal ball. She was an obese cecaelia with lavender skin, short and snowy white hair, and long red nails. She wore heavy makeup, and the top octopus half of her was pitch black and resembled an evening gown.

She was Ursula the Sea Witch, feared by all in Atlantica. She was banished by that fool Triton for dabbling too far into the dark arts. Triton would come to soon regret that that day, because with the Heartless the fairy witch, Maleficent, gave her, the throne of Atlantica will belong to her.

And she will use Triton's naïve daughter to achieve it.

* * *

The group clung tightly to the dolphin as it escorted them through the Calm Depths. On the way to the path Ariel directed them to; they encountered a friendly dolphin that was willing to help them through the rough currents.

The pathway led to a new area with a huge, sunken ship in the center of it. Scattered ship pieces were everywhere. The dolphin wished them the best of luck and swam off.

May looked around the s area. It was rather quiet—eerily quiet. Like something was about to happen but was ambiguous as to what. Out of instinct, she went towards her sister, who was swimming next to Donald and Goofy.

"Do you think there's something fishy about this place? Like anything from the movie?" She asked her as they followed Ariel towards the ship. Sarina looked at her with fear in her eyes.

"Glut might appear."

"Who?"

"That shark that attacked Ariel and Flounder in the beginning?"

Oh. _Oh._ Well that just made everything much clearer. May smiled nervously at her twin with a sense of dread in her heart. She could feel her blood pressure rise. "Ah yes, Glut. That explains everything."

They swam into the Sunken Ship when the group suddenly heard something.

"Did anyone just feel that?" Ariel asked. "It's like a ripple in the sea or something."

The Jaws theme song was suddenly playing on infinite loop in May's head.

Inside the broken ship, Ariel noticed a pretty red chest. "What's in th—,"

An abnormally large shark crashed through the window, making the group scream and jump back. To May's inner shock, Ariel immediately clung onto Sora, and Sora held onto her. As always, Donald jumped onto Goofy.

The shark writhed around in the window trying to break inside, but it was stuck. With a threatening grin directed at Ariel, it retreated back into the sea, promising to get them outside.

Ariel released herself from Sora immediately (to May's inner relief), and looked at the window tensely. "That's Glut. Flounder and I always encounter him on our travels, and narrowily escape him every time."

"And yet you keep venturing out there despite this giant shark wanting you for dinner," May responded critically. The little mermaid smiled sheepishly at her.

Sora opened up the chest, which revealed a shimmering, crystal trident head.

"Is this it?" May asked. Ariel picked it up and observed it. It looked exactly like her father's own trident. "It might. Let's see."

They swam out of the ship—and immediately found themselves in an encounter with Glut. Ariel shoved the crystal head into Sora's arms and casted Thunder on the shark. The shark twitched violently before passing out onto the ocean floor.

"Let's go; I have a feeling he won't be out for long." Ariel said quietly before swimming. May and Sora watched her for a moment before they followed.

"It didn't take her long to get used to using a thunder spell," Sora said proudly. When they encountered heartless after exiting the grotto, several heartless appeared. Quickly Sora used this as an opportunity to teach Ariel on how to attack. Frantically Ariel called on the Thunder spell and managed to incapacitate several, before Sora finished them off. From then on it was clear they operate well as a team.

Possibly better than her and Sora.

May swam off quickly, not waiting for Sora to follow.

Sora looked at her in confusion. What was going on with May?

* * *

Ariel inserted the head into the trident-shaped marker in the stone. They were back in her grotto, and were hoping that the keyhole would appear.

The trident glowed a bright blue.

"This is it," May whispered to her twin. Now just a little longer…

"Ariel, you have disobeyed me again!"

And with just one line, their plans for the keyhole were shattered.

King Triton swam in with his giant gold trident, and with Sebastian meekly following behind him. "I told you not to leave the palace!"

"Well we're screwed," May grumbled.

Triton focused his eyes on the crystal trident and rage grew in his veins.

"Daddy, no!" Ariel pleaded to no avail. A golden beam went forth and shattered the crystal into pieces.

Tears grew into Ariel's eyes. All she wanted to do was to help her new friends and she couldn't even do that! "Father, how could you?"

She swam off crying, wanting to be alone for awhile. Seeing the sight was already making the king regret his decision, although he could not let that show on his face.

"Children," he addressed the teens, "You're not from another ocean. You're from another world. Aren't you?"

The group's jaws collectively dropped. How would he know about other worlds?

"Then you three must be key bearers," he continued.

"How did you know?" Sora asked in shock.

"How you even know about the keyblade?" May added, her eyes narrowing.

"You may fool Ariel but you won't fool me! You don't know your dorsal fin from your tail!"

 _'So he noticed our crappy swimming skills,'_ May though in embarrassment. It wasn't her fault that swimming as mermaid was entirely different from swimming as a human.

"As the key bearers you must already know that one must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds."

Sora stepped up.

"Of course we know that but—,"

"You have violated this principle. Key bearers shatter peace and bring ruin," The king cut him off sternly.

"Excuse me Your Majesty but we have saved worlds from becoming ruins by sealing their keyholes. We've come to Atlantica to do the same," May tried to explain. The king stood his ground.

"I thank you for saving my daughter, but there is no room in my ocean for you or your key. I banish you from my palace!"

"WHAT?" Donald exclaimed in anger.

"If you're really grateful for us saving your daughter you wouldn't banish us!" May barked but the king had already swum out the grotto. She muttered a colorful phrase.

Sora looked at his keyblade in worry, wondering if the king's word held some merit.

* * *

The two eels from earlier observed as Ariel sobbed on the boulders.

"My, my, the poor child suffers such deep sorrow," one spoke with faux sympathy in his voice. The eels circled the princess.

"What a pity, if only there were something we could do," the other one mockingly responded. He then swam directly in front of Ariel. "Wait. Maybe she can be of some help."

"Yes. Maybe she can be of some help to you."

Ariel stopped her crying for a moment. "Who are you talking about?" She demanded. The eel continued on as if he didn't hear her.

"Oh surely, she could help you. She'd make all your dreams come true."

"Ursula can help…"

They disappeared in a puff of black smoke, and in their place, Ursula appeared.

"You called my dear?" The sea witch greeted in a cheery tone.

"You're Ursula? I was just wondering if—,"

"It's all right dear. Helping others is what I live for! Let me guess, you wish to see other worlds. That shouldn't be too hard. After all, your new friends came from another world."

"What?" Ariel asked out of shock. But they said—

"But they had special help. Those mysterious keys."

Ariel looked down to the floor, feeling rather betrayed.

"Now, now. Cheer up, sweetie. You have something special too." Ursula sneaked in closer to the princess. Ariel opened her ears up to any solution the witch might have.

Ursula smirked as she began to tell Ariel her plan. "Now listen carefully..."

* * *

"I think the keyhole they seek is somewhere in the palace. Now, my dear, if only you can take me there without your daddy knowing," Ursula later said to Ariel while they were in the palace. The sea witch's eyes looked lustfully at the king's trident. "I can help you get to these other worlds you long for."

Ariel knew she was going to get in huge trouble for this. She was going to be buried in her room for thirty years if Daddy found about this, or even worse, finally get her tail whipped with the tail of a stingray. Daddy threatened to do to that to her for _years_ , and Sebastian always tried to encourage him to actually go through with it.

She heard about the legendary evil Ursula that was banished from the kingdom for practicing the Dark Arts. She certainly looked evil. But what if her father was being too irrational with her? Perhaps Ursula is just lonely.

Ariel picked up her father's trident and handed it to Ursula, making the biggest mistake of her life.

King Triton swam into the throne room and paled at the sight of Ursula with his trident. "You!"

"Well if it isn't the king," Ursula taunted. "Well of course you won't be king any longer."

She shot a beam into the King's torso, and he collapsed onto the throne.

"Daddy!" Ariel screamed as she rushed to her father.

"What have you done," the king barely managed to breathe out.

The sea witch cackled evilly as she twirled around victoriously.

"The trident is mine! And I couldn't have done it without your help, my dear," the witch thanked her mockingly.

The mermaid princess was just beginning to realize the consequences of her actions but it was too late. "Ursula, no! I didn't want this!"

"Why not? Aren't you tired of following your dear daddy's orders? Oh yes, we had a deal didn't we? Time for a little journey—into the dark world of the Heartless!"

The eels slithered in. "We could not find the keyhole," the one with the yellow left eye said.

"It is not here," the one with the right yellow eye confirmed.

"What?" The witch said in aggravation. She looked back and saw that the group swimming into the throne room. "Why, we have company." She forgot about the brats and their two pets but it didn't matter now. "Sorry kiddies, but I'm afraid you're a little late!" She disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"Daddy," Ariel said, looking at her father in regret.

"We must get the trident back," he replied.

May swam towards the exit with Sarina next to her. "We have to get it now; who knows what that ugly sea cow will do with it!"

"Let's go!" Sora agreed, following them—only for Ariel to swim in front of him.

"Wait! I'm going with you!" She said. "My father's hurt and it's all my fault. I have to stop Ursula!" She pleaded.

"That's right. I'm right behind you Ariel!" Sebastian added, puffing his chest.

"If it weren't for you snitching on her in the first place she wouldn't have gotten the idea to steal the real trident in the first place!" May barked, and Ariel glared at the royal adviser.

Sebastian smiled sheepishly in response.

* * *

The group plus Sebastian entered the area with the Sunken Ship—which was eerily quiet. Again. The Jaws theme replayed in May's mind.

Glut reappeared, this time going directly towards Sebastian. The crab shrieked, but before the shark could take a bite, Ariel electrocuted it once more. It once again fell to the ground, unconscious.

Next to a broken piece of a ship was a door that had a strange glyph. Next to it was a button.

"Let me show you how it's done," Sebastian said proudly as he pushed the button with his full body weight. The door opened to a dark and purple path lined with decaying worms.

It was the path to Ursula's lair.

The path to the sea witch's lair was dark and narrow. Victims of her deceitful promises withered on the floor, nothing more than worms or limbs. Sound was nowhere to be heard except the soft noise of the ocean.

Ariel felt even more stupid after swimming in such an obviously evil place.

Ursula crawled out of a pit in her lair and glared at the group.

"Come out! You can't run!" Donald barked, waving his fists menacingly.

"Your time has come!" Sebastian added from sitting on the top of the court wizard's head.

The witch growled, and they screamed in fear at her ugly face.

Flotsam and Jetsam slithered in next to their owner. Ursula threw a potion into a large cauldron, and it roared a red flame.

"You fools think you beat me?" The witch smirked.

Out of sheer rage, Ariel recklessly rushed forth and tried to smack Ursula with her tail but the sea witch grabbed her fin and with enough strength, slammed her into the floor. The sea witch then electrocuted her, making Ariel scream as her body shook violently.

"Leave her alone!" Sora roared as he slammed his keyblade into Ursula's face. Her head snapped back, and Sora began unleashing physical blows on her body. She smacked him away with her tentacles only to be smacked again in the face by May's thrown keyblade. The blade swung back into May's arms as she shot fire balls repeatedly at the witch.

Sebastian clung to Donald's head fiercely as the duck along with Goofy tried to attack Flotsam and Jetsam. The eels slithered out of the way quickly and began to taunt them. Having enough, Goofy knocked out Flotsam with one hit of his shield while Donald did the same with Jetsam with his staff.

Sarina tried to figure out why the cauldron kept changing colors. It glowed red, then blue, and then yellow. _'Does it react to certain magic spells?'_ When the cauldron glowed red, she called on Fira. Obviously it didn't work. _'That should have been a given. Maybe Thundara would work?'_ She tried Thundara on the cauldron, and it glowed. She used Thunder on it again and it glowed even brighter. One last time she used it, and the cauldron turned a bright green.

The cauldron exploded, killing the eels instantly and knocking back Ursula.

Ursula watched on in horror as her precious pets dissipated into black smoke. Eyes wild with anger, she glared at the group.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" She shrieked and then rapidly swam out of her lair.

"Do your worst you ugly sea bitch!" May shouted back. Then she realized what Ursula was most likely going to do next since she had the trident. _'Well shit. She is going to actually do her worst.'_

"We have to get the trident back!" Ariel said as she floated up to Sora. "I have a feeling this situation is going to get worse!"

"It is going to get worse," May responded, "Way worse."

In the wide ocean with strong currents, Ursula appeared with a golden trident on her head and the king's trident in her hand.

"You pathetic fools! I rule the seas now!" She twirled upwards and glowed a bright yellow. Black smoke began to flood the area and an earthquake rocked the area.

Ursula's body began to spread out and she grew bigger, bigger, and bigger until she was a gigantic sea monster that covered up the entire area.

"The sea and all its spoils bow to my power!"

The black smoke cleared and Giant Ursula smirked at them with a murderous glint in her eyes.

"I wish I would bow down to you, you ugly bitch!" May replied and was promptly greeted with a gold beam to her body that shocked her. She twitched violently before collapsing on the seafloor.

"No!" Sora called as he attacked the sea witch. Ursula opened her mouth and inhaled deeply, pulling him in.

"Sora, no!" Ariel called out as she grabbed Sora just before Ursula could chomp down on him. Frustrated, Ursula smacked them both away. Sora rolled down unto the ground to May, and cradled her into his arms. He casted Cure on her immediately, and she awoke, looking around.

"I can't believe I fainted that easily," she mumbled. She then noticed she was in Sora's arms and Ariel was floating behind Ursula's head unnoticed. Ariel called on thunder, and the witch screamed in pain.

"You little tramp!" Ursula roared as she slammed the trident on the ground. A white beam rained down on Ariel, and soon the princess was on the ocean floor with the two teens.

Ursula then focused on the rest of the party and blew a stream of bubbles from her mouth. Goofy deflected them back into her face with his shield and the witch howled in rage.

"This won't be pretty!" She barked as she raised the trident again.

"Well neither is your face!" May shot back as she, Sora, and Ariel floated back up. Ursula slammed the trident down once again, and white beams rapidly rained down the group. When everybody dodged it, she opened her mouth and inhaled again. As Ariel was being pulled in, she shot Thunder into the sea witch's mouth. Ursula stumbled back, and Sora stabbed his keyblade into Ursula's eye.

"AHH!" She bellowed, smacking Sora away with her large hand. She covered her now bleeding eye as she now began to shoot out thunder beams.

May twirled as she dodged one of the beams and swam to Ursula's other eye. She drove her own keyblade into Ursula's other eye, and the sea witch howled. Her eyes were completely damaged.

May swam back to Sora and Ariel. "Now let's try something different guys! THUNDARA!"

"THUNDARA!"

Ursula's eyes exploded and the remains began to drip down her cheeks. The sea witch's body began to shake violently due to the combined electric shocks.

"Alrighty, that's actually kind of gross," May said, cringing.

One last time the sea witch tried to swing at them with the trident, but Sarina had another idea in mind.

Focusing deeply the sea witch's head, Sarina called on Thundara, but it came out much more violent and powerful. Multiple beams shot forth and struck Ursula.

It was like a light show, a very disturbing light show. The group was able to see Ursula's skeleton as the sea witch's body shook rapidly until her skin turned black and exploded. Her guts and limbs flew everywhere, smattering on Donald, Goofy, and Sebastian. Her charred bones fell to the ground, and the rest of her body dissipated into black smoke.

Only the trident remained.

Sora held his nose as the smell of burned flesh filled the area.

"It smells a lot like sweet pork, don't you think?" May asked her twin. Sarina sent her a disgusted look in response.

"What? It totally does!"

* * *

"Daddy, I am so sorry," Ariel apologized deeply. She was probably never going to live down this day for the rest of her life.

"Please don't punish her," Sora spoke up in her defense.

"It is my fault. You followed Ursula because I wouldn't let you follow your heart," Triton said regretfully, "And when you found that crystal, I lost my temper and destroyed it."

"Oh, yeah, the crystal! Why did you destroy it?" Goofy asked.

"That crystal held the power to reveal the keyhole. The keyhole is dangerous. I had to keep it away from you at all cost."

"Daddy...,"

"Look Your Majesty, sealing the keyhole will prevent anymore heartless from coming into this world. The ones that do remain can be destroyed easily now that Ursula is dead," May explained.

"Then I have one request; Seal it. My trident also has the power to reveal the Keyhole. Will you do it?" The king asked.

"Of course! That's what we had in mind from the start," Sora replied.

"Daddy, where is the Keyhole?"

"You should know better than anyone. It's in your grotto."

* * *

Ariel pointed her father's trident to the marker. It glowed brightly and floated upwards.

The marker turned blue and Atlantica's Keyhole appeared in the blue plaque.

Sarina swam forward and sealed it. Bubbles shot out and floated upwards out to the outside world.

Ariel swam towards Sora. "Tell me, Sora, what is your world like?"

"Oh about that, sorry for lying to you," he apologized. She shook her head frantically.

"Oh don't worry about that. Besides if you can travel to other worlds, maybe I can, too."

Ariel floated upwards and twirled around happily.

"So many places I want to see—I know I'll get there someday. I'll find a way somehow. I'm sure of it!"

"Well, if you find it, do me a favor and leave me out of it!" Sebastian huffed as he observed from the floor.

Ariel ignored him and swam back down to Sora. "I hope we meet each other again," she told him, eyes sparkling. May was very eager to leave.

"I hope so too," Sora replied happily. Ariel went over and grabbed a bright, shimmering ruby conch shell. She placed it in Sora's arms. "I want you to have this," she said. She then hugged him tightly, and Sora turned red, not sure whether he should hug back or not.

She then reached for one of her pots and took out of a piece of paper and handed it to May. 'Ansem's Report #3', it read.

"Thanks Ariel," May replied warmly. Despite everything, she still liked the little mermaid. Ariel grinned and handed her own blue clam shell. She then handed Sarina a pink one.

"You guys, are special to me. I hope you find what you're looking for," Ariel smiled sweetly, and that's why May couldn't bring herself to blame her for bonding quickly with Sora. Sora had a cute smile and big, blue innocent eyes. That really would warm a girl's heart…even hers.

"I won't forget you!" Ariel called as the group waved her goodbye and swam out of her grotto. When they were completely gone, Ariel giggled and looked at two figurines; a male and a female. She picked up the male and stared thoughtfully at it. _'Sora, is the men in your world like you?'_ She thought wistfully.

Sebastian rolled his eyes at the sight. Teenagers, so typical. The king was going to have his hands full soon.

* * *

 _Ansem's Report #3_

 _The shadows that crawl beneath the castle... Are they the people who lost their hearts, or incarnations of darkness? Or something entirely beyond my imagination? All my knowledge has provided no answer. One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion. Perhaps further study will unlock the mysteries of the heart. Fortunately, there is no shortage of test samples. They are multiplying underground even as I write this report. They still need a name. Those who lack hearts... I will call them the Heartless._

* * *

A/N: If anyone figured it out already, I'm making so that every world has a Princess of Heart, which will be important very soon. Thus, I struggled with making Ariel The Princess of Heart of Atlantica on the basis that she is a Disney Princess, and a well-meaning and compassionate heroine.

However, I changed my mind because Ariel did kinda sell her soul to the devil (Ursula) in the movie, and in the KH universe, she canonically falls for Ursula's temptation twice. **Twice**.

Plus there's nothing wrong with a heroine having flaws.

Read and Review!


	11. Neverland

It was a couple days later and May was still thinking intensely about Sora and Ariel. Did he have feelings for her? Did she have feelings for him? At the end of all this, will he go back to Atlantica and proclaim his undying love for Ariel? Can he do that? What about Kairi? Can she compete with a girl that has been his best friend since early childhood?

She hated herself for asking these questions since it never happened before in her life. She was cool-headed, not insecure.

Yet here she was, internally brooding over it...forever. It didn't help that Sora was currently clutching the conch shell that Ariel handed to him with a wistful look on his face. "I hope we meet again," he whispered quietly to himself, not knowing that she overheard him. She could feel Sarina staring at the back of her head, frowning.

An argument between Donald and Goofy brought out of her intense brooding.

"What are you looking at? Keep your eyes on the road!" Donald barked.

"Uh, there's a ship following us," Goofy replied nervously. A gigantic pirate ship flew over them. _'Is that the Jolly Roger?'_ May thought to herself. Donald rolled his eyes as he took a glance at the ship. "It's a pirate ship, so what? Keep it moving!"

The ship suddenly turned around and headed towards them. "What the- Why's it heading towards us?" May panicked. Sarina's eyes widened in fear as she clutched Jiminy to her chest.

"It's going to crash!" Sora cried out.

"TURN!" Donald screamed to Goofy but it was too late...Everything went black.

* * *

The next thing Sora knew, he was on a ship. The very same ship that crashed into them. He landed on the deck with a harsh thud, which he knew he was going to feel the effects of in the morning. He walked towards the end when he felt a presence in the air. Sora turned around and saw Riku on the upper deck. "Riku!"

"I didn't think you'd come, Sora. Good to see you again."

"Where are the others?" The brunette demanded, not forgetting about the Monstro incident.

Riku glared. "Are they that important to you? More important than old friends? Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking about...about her."

He stepped aside to reveal Kairi leaning against a pillar like a lifeless doll. A burning fire erupted in Sora's chest. "Kairi!"

"That's right. While you were off goofing around, I finally found her," Riku spat.

Sora ran towards her, but was stopped by a man with a hook. He was dressed in red Victorian clothing with a large hat on top of his curly black hair. "Not so fast. No shenanigans aboard my vessel, boy," the man smugly replied. Soon a crew of pirates jumped out from all over the ship along with heartless resembling pirates joining them. Sora wanted to scream. What was wrong with Riku and where did he go wrong? "Riku, why are you siding with the heartless?"

"The heartless obey me now, Sora. Now I have nothing to fear."

"You're stupid! Sooner or later they'll swallow your heart!"

"Not a chance. My heart's too strong. I've picked up a few other tricks as well. Like this for instance...,"He held out his right hand and a dark, nearly completely black clone of Sora, appeared in front of the latter's eyes. Sora blanched at the copy as Riku smirked evilly. "You can go see your friends now."

The floor opened up from underneath Sora, and he screamed as he fell down the pit. Riku glanced blankly at the floor closing up before directing his attention to Captain Hook and Smee."Let's get the ship moving already, and keep Sora away from Kairi until we're ready to land." He walked off arrogantly making the Captain scowl.

"Humph! That scurvy brat thinks he can order me around!" Hook complained to Smee, his right hand man. If the boy was just a regular crew member, he would have gotten his throat slit at the insolence.

"What shall we do, Captain Hook?" Smee shyly asked.

"Nothing! The hold is crawling with Heartless. Let THEM keep an eye on the brats."

"But, Captain, you-know-who is also down-"

"Shh...Did you hear that, Smee? Oh, that dreadful sound!" The Captain looked around frantically.

"No, Captain..."

Hook shook Smee rapidly. "Are you quite sure? Did I imagine it? Oh my poor nerves..."

In the waters below, something green giggled evilly at the Captain's fear.

* * *

"You saw her? For real?" Goofy asked.

"Yeah, it was definitely Kairi! I finally found her!" Sora replied happily.

"I'm happy for you, Babyface," May said, smiling.

"Thanks!"

"Alright, then let's go up there and talk to her!" Goofy decided.

"Yeah!"

"Sounds great. Okay, but first... HOW ABOUT GETTING OFF OF ME!" Donald roared.

The group was in a pile on the ship floors. Donald was unlucky enough to be on the bottom.

"Oh sorry," Sora said meekly. Then he noticed something."Hey May, I'm on top of you for once!"

When the group rose up, Sora and May went to check for any exits.

"It's no use, we're prisoners until we reach the main land," May said, frowning. If only...

"Lookin' for a way out?"

May's eyes widened in surprise and her jaw hit the floor. She turned around stiffly just in time to see a young boy with auburn hairPeter Pan leap right in front of her.

"Who are you?" Goofy asked in confusion. The boy looked younger than the teens with pale skin, black eyebrows, red hair, and impish brown eyes. He was wearing a green cap on his hair with a red feather in it, a light green tunic, green tights, tan pointed shoes, and a brown belt around his hip holding a dagger.

"P-P-Pet...Peter Pan! He's Peter Pan!" May exclaimed in excitement. Suddenly she was a little girl again who dressed up as Peter Pan and whacked Angie around with a toy sword. Who (embarrassingly) proclaimed that she wanted to marry him at eight years old and demanded her parents to buy all the books for her, sat in front of the window every night in the hopes he would come, and who would try to fly off the bed, only to face plant on the hard floor.

"Peter...Pan?" Sora asked, confused by May's sudden fangirling. He didn't see what was the big with this kid who looked like he was playing dress up.

"I'm the answer to your prayers!" The boy proudly proclaimed.

"Pfft, yeah right!" Donald huffed, only to yelp in pain when May sharply elbowed him. Peter folded his arms arrogantly. "Okay, fine then. Have it your way."

"But you're stuck in here too, right?" Sora asked.

"Haha, no. I'm waiting for someone."

"Who?"

A golden ball of light swirled around Sora before flying back to Pan. A tiny fairy with blond hair in a bun, a lime green mini dress, and lime green slippers materialized in front of Pan.

"Tinkerbell!" The twins shouted simultaneously.

"Wow, have you girls heard of us or no?" Peter said cheerfully. "What took you so long, Tink?"

The small fairy made a gesture only Peter could understand.

"Great job. So you found Wendy?" Tinkerbell nodded.

"Hold on. There was another girl there, too? Are you crazy? There's no way I'm gonna leave Wendy there!" Peter barked in anger. The tiny fairy turned her nose up at him.

"Aha. She must be pretty jealous!" Donald commented smugly, then snickered. As a response, Tink flew over and kicked Donald up the nose in anger. She then flew out the window.

"Come on Tink, open up the door!" Pan begged, only for it to fall on deaf ears.

Tinkerbell noticed the way that other girl was looking at Peter and she didn't like it! Wendy was already a problem by herself!

"Does she get like this with every girl?" Goofy asked Peter.

He rubbed his head awkwardly."Yeah, she does. I can't figure out why though."

Donald face palmed.

"If we wanna get out of here, we're gonna have to work together," Sora pointed out. He held his hand for a handshake, only for Peter to ignore him.

"Fine, we'll work together but only until we find Wendy! As you already know, I'm Peter Pan!"

"I'm Sora, those two guys are Donald and Goofy, that's Sarina, and this is-" Sora found himself shoved aside from a giddy May.

"I'm May! Can I just say I'm a big fan of you?" She exclaimed, taking Peter by the arm.

"Really? I didn't know I was popular!" Peter responded, happily.

"When we find Wendy, can you show me around Neverland? I would love it!" May begged with puppy eyes. Peter looked at her critically.

"I don't know...you look a little too grown up to be hanging with me."

May shook her head. "Dude, I'm only fourteen. I'm not even allowed to date! Please take me, I'm still a kid!" Pan shrugged.

"Well alright. It's a deal!"

Sora didn't know whether to feel confused or annoyed at this.

* * *

He later settled on being annoyed.

"And that's how I defeated Captain Hook last week!" Peter Pan boasted. May looked up at him with admiration in her eyes. "I can't believe you actually got him so drunk he accidentally sliced up a crew member, got wine all over himself, stumbled off the ship, and nearly got eaten by the crocodile!"

He arrogantly shrugged. "What can I say? I'm amazing! Want me to teach you some pranks?"

"Of course!"

"What does she see in this guy?" Sora hissed to Sarina. She smiled awkwardly. "May always had a taste for adventure and, well, Peter Pan is one of her childhood heroes," She explained. She then noticed Sora's crestfallen look. "Don't worry, Peter Pan will stay the age he's at forever. Neverland is an ageless place. He's known as the boy who won't grow up for a reason."

"I can tell."

All this conversations were going on and yet only Goofy sensed something strange.

"So, uh, how come you could fly?" Goofy asked stopped flying.

"Anyone could fly. You wanna try?" Without waiting for an answer, Peter whistled. Tinkerbell flew in, although still angered by Peter interacting with another girl.

"Aw haven't you cooled down yet?"

The fairy answered his question by sending a vicious glare towards May that made the other girl feel quite attacked. However she still flew over the group, sprinkling pixie dust all over them.

"Just a little bit of pixie dust and there! Now you can fly!" Peter explained. Donald decided he was going to be the first one to demonstrate this. He flapped his hands and floated upwards...

….and fell promptly to the floor face down.

Tinkerbell flew over and laughed soundlessly at the court wizard's pain.

* * *

"What? Wendy's not one of the chosen ones?" Hook asked in shock. He and Riku stood in the Captain's Cabin.

"We needed at least seven, and Maleficent says she's not one of them," Riku answered flatly. He turned around. "Hoist anchor as soon as possible. Leave all the dead weight behind, including her."

"After the trouble of capturing her? And why those seven? What is Maleficent planning anyway?" Hook said while placing his hand (and hook) on his hips.

"Who knows? As long as it means getting Kairi's heart back, I couldn't care less," Riku replied.

Hook barked out a cynical laugh. "You're wasting your time! The Heartless has devoured that girl's heart. I'll stake me other hand that it's lost forever!"

Riku's eyes darkened. "I will find it no matter what."

"Uh Captain…," Smee called out from a horn. The captain angrily stalked over to it, irritated about the useless kidnapping he committed. "What?"

"The prisoners have escaped. What's more, Peter Pan is with them!"

A deep rage bubbled within the captain. First, he had to pick up this silver-haired brat, then he had to capture that troublesome girl Wendy, then he had to ram his ship into that ugly yellow one, then he found out it was all for nothing, and now Peter Pan was here! The past two weeks have been absolute hell, and now that little devil was here to do his absolute worst again. The captain was close to snapping, but something clicked in his mind. He took a deep breath.

"Alright then! Bring the hostage to me cabin, Smee. Hop to it!"

He had an advantage over that troublesome brat: Wendy Darling.

* * *

A girl with light brown hair in ringlets, blue eyes, and rosy cheeks leaned numbly against a cabin bed. She was Wendy Darling, a girl of twelve years who had dreamed of going to Neverland since she was a little girl. She wanted to meet Peter Pan, swim with the mermaids, and not grow up. Her just dream came true and it was magical...at first. Peter Pan was more handsome than she had ever imagined, and Mermaid Lagoon was perfect even with the homicidal mermaids who tried to drown her out of jealousy.

However, the second she wanted to go home, Neverland became a nightmare. She got into a big fight with Peter, and Captain Hook kidnapped her and trapped her in his ship. She didn't think Peter would save her as he was probably still mad at her for wanting to grow up. It was a sorrowful issue, but she wanted to grow up, get married, and have children. In Neverland, no one ages. They will never know the comforts of domestic life. It's a future she could not imagine herself being in.

She then heard some voices, with one of them being oddly familiar…

"Peter? Peter Pan?" She called, getting up and running to the lower platform. From below the gate, she met the brown eyes of Peter. He had come for her!

"Wendy!" He shouted, making her swoon inside.

"Peter! You really did come for me! Hurry, the pirates are coming!" She warned, recalling the Captain's recent order he made to his crew. She could hear his obnoxious voice all the way from her cabin.

Peter's mouth dropped open. "What? Hold on, we'll be right there!" She smiled at his determination.

"Wendy," another voice called. It came from another boy, one that looked slightly older than Peter."

"Yes?" She asked politely, remembering her manners.

"Is there another girl up there with you?" The boy asked. She looked up at the unconscious girl lying across from her.

"But, why yes! But she seems to be asleep. She hasn't budged an inch."

The boy's face paled in alarm. "Kairi? Kairi!" The boy called to the other girl.

The other girl's fingers began to twitch, but the cabin door opened up, and Hook's henchmen stormed in. Before she could cry for help, she and the other girl were being dragged out of the cabin.

"Wendy? We needed to get up there!" Peter said, frantic. Sora nodded in determination.

"How about that large hole over there?" May pointed out. The two boys looked over to the other side of the room where there were two openings in the ceiling.

The group ran towards one ledge, and each of them collectively hopped on it. Peter then flew up the hole and reached the second floor. He threw his arm to let May grab onto it, and he was surprisingly able to pull her up. She repeated the action to Sora, and who did the same to Sarina, and soon everybody was on the second floor. It was the same floor that Wendy and a comatose Kairi resided.

"There's a latter up there," Sarina pointed upwards, looking up at the ceiling where the ladder resided, locked. May looked at it and frowned.

"It looks pretty unreachable."

"No problem!" Goofy responded. He tugged on Sora's arms. "Why don't you hop on my shoulders, and Donald hop on yours to reach the ladder?"

Sora tilted his head with uncertainty. "I dunno, can you handle that much weight?"

 _'With the kind of hijinks he got into, it wouldn't be surprising,_ ' May thought to herself. Over the course of over eighty years, Goofy had taken a lot of abuse. Certainly he could handle a scrawny boy and a loudmouthed duck.

Sora, and Donald quickly formed a tower among themselves, with Donald at the top. The court wizard pulled at the ladder and pulled it down, revealing another floor. Donald quickly climbed up the ladder with the rest of the group and Peter following them.

* * *

Up on the floor was a hallway with multiple doors. Sora opened up the first door he saw which led to the Captain's cabin.

He walked in and saw Riku carrying Kairi's limp body. Their eyes met and for a moment, Sora was numb. However with a quick glare, Riku began to back towards the other door.

"Riku, wait!" Sora pleaded, wanting an opportunity to talk some sense into him. Without even sparing Sora a blink, Riku summoned the dark version of Sora from earlier and left.

Sora looked at the horrid caricature of himself before he summoned his keyblade. To his further horror, the creatur _e_ summoned his own version of his keyblade.

 _'Please don't copy my every move!'_ Sora thought as he deflected a blow meant for his neck. With his keyblade, he pushed the creature back and aimed for it's head, only for it to block his strike and repeat what Sora did to him. The creature slammed him in the head with its own keyblade and Sora saw stars in his eyes for a brief moment. Panicking, Sora kicked it's shin, and then struck at its legs. Anti-Sora fell to the ground with a flop. When it got up, Sora quickly slashed at its waist, arms, and neck. Anti Sora stopped moving for a moment.

Sora brightened with hope at the idea of it perishing that easily, only to lose it when it started to recover. Sora casted Fira on the beast, with the force of the blow knocking it back several feet. It got up and and tried to claw at Sora's face, but the brunette dodged. Hissing, it leaped onto Sora. The boy yelped as he was now fighting an aggressive creature that was clawing at his face and neck.

"Hey you!" May called, having watched enough. When she met the beady yellow orbs of the heartless, she cringed at how eerily it resembled Sora except for the pure black skin, hair, and clothes. It hopped of Sora and ran towards her with it's claws ready to strike. Without a second thought, May hurled her keyblade at it, hitting its face and stunning it. Sora took this opportunity to unleash a barrage of blows onto the Anti Sora. Not giving up, Anti Sora clawed at Sora's face, causing the brunette to flinch, crawled back to a corner and then created two more copies around the room.

"Aww come on!" May said in aggravation as she summoned her keyblade back into her hands. She called upon Aerora to shield her as she went to attack the creature.

One of the copies engaged in a battle with Peter Pan, who fought it off with his large knife that he stole from Hook one time. It tried to strike at him with its claws, but Peter was much faster, and could fly. Peter toyed with the copy as it tried to kill him. Gleefully, he dodged each blow by flying away at the right time and then stabbing it all over its body. The copy expired out of a combination of tiredness and Peter being the stronger opponent.

"Give it up! It's over!" May taunted as the other copy went up in flames, courtesy of Donald's Fira. Anti-Sora tried one last time to hit at May but it was useless, as Sora went in and slashed it one final time. It disappeared, leaving only a black ring.

Sora picked it up, observing it. He could feel the dark power flowing from it, but for some reason, he felt protected.

There were sudden barking noises in the room. Everyone turned their attention to a shaking chest on the other side of the room.

"The puppies," May simply said as she walked over and opened the chest. The puppies jumped out and disappeared in a beam of light. May was starting to wonder at this point as to how were they able to breathe inside the chest. Was it Disney magic? Puppy Magic? It was mystery on how they all got scattered in such a way in the first place.

"Hook had puppies locked in a chest on his ship? I didn't think he would sink so low!" Peter exclaimed.

"I'm pretty sure they got here on their own," May responded, not really intending to defend a Disney villain but it was the truth.

Sarina spotted something on the floor. She walked over to it, and on closer inspection, she realized it was a latch.

"Peter!" She called the boy over. He was over there in an instant. He tapped his foot on it to see if it was a trap, and it sure was.

It opened up, and he fell down onto the lower floor. Peter saw Wendy lying on the floor, unconscious, and immediately went to pick to cradle her in his arms. Tinker Bell flew around him in jealousy.

"Tink! Not now!" He scolded, waving her away. Tink turned red in indignation. Peter stood up with Wendy in his arms, and looked at the group, who had all jumped down the trap floor, with a serious expression on his face.

"Well, this is as far as I can go. I gotta help Wendy," he lamented. He then flew off without another word.

"You're welcome," Sora said bitterly. Out of all the friends they have met on this journey, Peter was definitely his least favorite.

May put a hand on his shoulder. "We have to find Riku and Kairi, remember?"

He sighed as he thought about his best friends.

"I know," was his simple answer.

* * *

The group traveled out to the deck, which was eerily quiet. They didn't make it too long before Hook's entire crew crawled out from about every hole in the ship, along with the Heartless.

Captain Hook came out onto the deck with a smug look on his face. He had the group cornered with no Peter Pan in sight. Perfect. "Quite a codfish, that Riku. Running off with that girl without saying goodbye," he directed at Sora, enjoying the way the brunette seethed in anger.

"Run off where? Tell me where they went!" Sora snapped, not in the mood for games.

"To the ruins of Hollow Bastion where Maleficent resides," Hook explained.

"Hollow Bastion?" May asked in confusion. What kind of name was that? Was it a haunted castle or something?

"Don't worry, you won't live to see it," He smiled cruelly.

"Why's that, loser?" May fired back.

A vein popped out of his head in anger but Hook decided to keep his anger in check. He pulled out a small jar out of his coat that contained Tinker Bell, causing the group to collectively gasp. The tiny fairy banged on the glass, trying to free herself. "Unless you intend on leaving your little pixie friend behind."

The three teenagers in the group sent looks of alarm to each other. They needed to get to this Hollow Bastion, but they couldn't risk Tinkerbell's life for it. They each put away their keyblades, with May glaring daggers at the Captain. Quickly, the pirate heartless swarmed them and pointed their swords at them. "Hand over the keyblades, and I'll spare your lives! Be grateful I'm merciful unlike the Heartless!"

May distinctly remembered the Captain shooting a crew member just for playing the accordion poorly in the original movie.

"So which will it be? The keyblades or the plank?" He said, giving them an ultimatum that would go wrong either way.

"The plank of course!" May answered, giving a defiant smirk. The Captain hissed, not liking the look in her eyes, it reminded him of that blasted Peter Pan.

"She will walk first!" He barked to the Heartless.

They rushed over, grabbed May, and led her onto the plank.

"No!" Sora cried out.

"It's alright, Babyface. You'll see," May consoled in a rather cheerful manner.

"I wouldn't be smiling lass if I were you!" Hook mocked. Then he froze, his ears have picked up a familiar sound. Tick tock...tick tock… "It's him! The crocodile that took me hand!"

The crocodile was currently sitting in the ocean waters with a bib tied around its neck and a knife and fork in each hand. It was clearly hoping the Captain would fall over the ship. He tasted rather nice; the hand had such a rich and meaty flavor that was impossible to get from the average fish. Plus it wanted to get back at Hook for making it accidentally swallowing a clock in the attempt to eat him.

"Oh Smee! He's after me other hand! I can't stay here any longer!" Hook cried to his second in command.

"Wait, can Crocodiles even reside in the ocean?" Sora asked Sarina.

She shot him a weary look. "I don't really think so."

"Go away! I can not bear to look at it!" Hook prattled on, "Smee! Take care of them!" He ran up the ladder and onto the upper deck as if he was on fire. He locked himself into his cabin, having no intention of coming back out for the rest of the night. The heartless and crew members were pushing May until she was nearly about to fall over. She looked at the pale look on her twin's face, the worried looks Donald and Goofy sent her, and the sheer fright on Sora's face which flattered her more than she was ready to admit. She took a deep breath, and she fell backwards towards the pitch black sea…

…And then flew up into the air with Peter Pan right next to her.

She landed right back onto the ship, with Peter snatching Tinkerbell out of Smee's hands. He released her, and Tinkerbell flew around proudly. Peter would never leave her!

"This plan worked out more than I expected!" May cheered, hi-fiving Pan.

"Plan?" Sora and Sarina both repeated in confusion.

"While we were searching for Wendy, me and Peter planned this whole thing out!" She explained with Pan nodding in confirmation. Sora's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"You guys really didn't think I'd leave you and Tink behind, did you?" Peter added, smiling brightly. Sora felt like snapping, but he went against it and smiled in gratitude. "Thanks, man." He then glared at the heartless and crew members. "You're going down!"

Several pirates immediately tried to jump him at once, but were quickly knocked out by Sarina's Thundara. He then joined May in a battle with two other pirates.

"Two brats can't defeat us!" One of them spat. May responding by swing at his legs, knocking him unto the floor, and causing him to hit his head. He was instantly knocked out. The other one, who was more heavier, quickly joined him onto the floor, frozen.

"What's a dog and duck doing here?" A younger pirate asked in confusion before getting set on fire by Donald. With a painful shriek, he ran right overboard into the cold waters.

Another pirate tried to impale Sarina with his sword, only to get caught up in mini tornado she conjured up. Some heartless tried to attack the court wizard, but were quickly sent flying by Goofy's spinning.

Peter narrowly missed getting hit by a cannonball. He looked up and saw a heartless in a tiny pirate ship getting ready to fire again.

"Is it me or is the Heartless getting weirder and weirder?" May asked as she swooped in next to him. She blocked the attack with her keyblade. A cannonball slammed into her, sending her flying into a wall. May cringed in pain. That thing had to go right now. Bringing herself to stand up, she shot up into the air. She engaged in an aerial battle with the Heartless, who was shooting off its blasts with a vengeance.

"Blizzara!" May yelled the spell, freezing the cannons on the airship. The Heartless looked the ship controls in confusion for a moment. Before it could react, it was blasted off the ship and into the dark waters below. May blew the smoke off her keyblade and grinned.

Another ship appeared, and this time, Sora flew to battle it. The sensation of flying made him feel much more freer as he chased after the ship. It was unbelievable; He could fly! Sora caught up to the heartless and its ship, and quickly dealt a barrage of blows unto its ship. Pieces went flying and the heartless looked at Sora in a panic. Sora smirked before blowing it up with Fira.

He sank back to the deck, gracefully and shared a glance with Peter.

"Come with me, I got an idea!" Peter boasted, pointing at the Captain's cabin door. Sora nodded, deciding to go along with the plan. Peter walked over and stood on each side of the door to Hook's cabin. Peter grinned evilly and knocked on the door.

"Is that you Smee? Did you finish them off?" Hook answered from the other his nose and quietly giggling to himself, Peter replied. "Aye Captain. They walked the plank, every last one of them," he said, his voice a perfect imitation of Smee's.

Every last crew member was either knocked out on the deck or in the ocean.

Hook ran out his cabin within seconds, not seeing the two boys. Peter snuck up behind him and poked him up the butt with his knife.

Hook yelped and turned around. His face went white as a sheet when he met the eyes of Peter Pan.

"P-Peter Pa-Blast you!" He roared in anger as he tried to swipe at him with his hook. Peter gleefully dodged the attack.

"Ready to make a splash, you codfish? Now it's your turn to walk the plank!"

Hook whipped his sword out and immediately tried to slice up Peter. Peter matched up Hook's strikes with his own, managing to cut his chin."You rotten brat!" Hook responded with fury as blood streamed down his chin. He moved to jam his sword in the boy's chest, but the latter flew out of the way. Hook chased after him, waving his sword wildly."I kill you and do Neverland a great favor!" The Captain spat as he unleashed a vicious sword combo...only for Peter to completely dodge the combo.

"Awkward," Sora whispered to May. A middle-aged pirate captain getting upstaged by a skinny 12 year old boy was a rather humiliating sight to witness, this scene continued for about ten minutes. It consisted of Peter Pan flying around the ship, Hook chasing after him, the two of them engaging in a sword fight, and Hook losing. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

"Aren't you getting tired? Give it up, codfish!" Peter taunted.

Captain Hook flailed around angrily at the suggestion.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE ALREADY!" With a roar, he charged at the boy. He raised his sword as he prepared to vivisect Pan in one clean stroke.

Sora had a better idea. "Fira!" He shot at the Captain. Hook screamed as he felt the white hot sensation of his butt being completely on fire. "AHHHHHH!"He ran all over the ship in an attempt to get rid of the fire. When he got near the water, he jumped into the ocean without thinking.

"Ahh," the Captain said in content, steam coming out of the water. Only when the ticking noise start did he realize his mistake."No...no...NO!" Captain Hook shrieked in fright as the crocodile swam closer to him. "You'll not have me other hand!" He protested. With that, he swam off with the crocodile in great pursuit.

Pan rubbed his hands together happily. "Another day, another adventure! Wow, what a day!" He turned to Sora.

"Thanks, bud!"

Sora looked at him in shock. He never expected Peter to thank him. Then again, he never expected him to come back for them either. Peter Pan was just full of surprises, wasn't he?

Sora walked to the railing, and leaned over in thought. Kairi and Riku swarmed his mind. Kairi looked like a lifeless doll! What happened to her? She couldn't possibly be dead with the way Riku was carrying her around. And now, the both of them were in this world called Hollow Bastion. He honestly did not like the sound of that place.

Goofy looked at Donald.

"Uh, Kairi wouldn't wake up so maybe she really lost her-"

"Shh," Donald cut him off as Peter began to speak.

"Sora…," he called the other boy's name.

Sora didn't answer for a second, but then he smiled. "I really flew. Wait til' I tell Kairi. Would she believe it? Probably not."

"You could bring her to Neverland sometime. Then she could try it herself," Peter suggested thoughtfully.

"What about Captain Hook?" May asked, raising an eyebrow. Pan smiled sheepishly. "Well…"

"If you believe it, you can do anything, right? I will find Kairi, no matter what!" Sora said in response. May pounded her fist into her palm.

"That's the spirit!"

"There's so much I wanna tell her about flying, the pirates, and everything else that happened!" He smiled just at the thought of them talking in the Secret Place and him telling her about his adventures. Would she like them? He blushed at the thought.

"May, do you think our family would believe such a thing?" Sarina asked her shook her head.

"I don't think so, Rini. They're gonna wake up and forget everything had ever happened."

It was a situation she was not looking forward to. She didn't be one of those kids in movies who went on adventures and couldn't tell nobody. Their parents would probably get them tested if they try to tell them they met Disney characters.

Tinkerbell flew in next to Peter and tried to tell him something. "What's wrong, Tink? What about the clock tower?"

* * *

Wendy sat patiently on the ledge of the clock tower. Her brothers were safely home; now she just waited for Peter and the others to come.

When they flew in, she smiled brightly.

"You'll find her, Sora. Just don't give up," she encouraged as Sora walked towards her.

Sora gave her a soft smile. "I won't," He replied.

Tink flew in his face, flailing about. "Oh right. The Clock Tower," Sora remembered.

The group flew up in front of Big Ben.

"Does she want us to hit it?" May asked Peter.

"I think so," Peter answered, looking at the tiny fairy for confirmation. Tink nodded.

"Wow. I can't believe I'm about to strike Big Ben," May said excitedly, and in one stroke, she hit the hand. The clock tower rang loudly, echoing throughout London. The keyhole appeared at the 3rd hour. Sora summoned his keyblade and sealed the hole.

* * *

 _"Hey Sora?" Riku asked Sora. He was back in the secret cave again. He was five years old and Sora was four._

 _"Hm?" the younger Sora replied. Riku remembered how golden his brown hair was, it was nearly blond in color. For some reason, his friend's hair recently changed from its dark coloring. His eyes were big and blue with a veil of innocence clouding them. "When we grow up, let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"_

 _"Sure. But isn't there anything fun to do now?" Sora asked. Even back then, Sora wasn't as excited for adventures as he was. Sora was content running the small island without pondering if there was more to be found other than their world._

 _"Hey, you know the new girl at the mayor's house? She arrived on the night of the meteor shower" Sora asked him, eager to change the subject. Back then, girls creeped him out. Even now, he still had issues talking to them. With the exception of Kairi, who caught his eye from the moment he met her._

 _The last thing he remembered was looking at the large door with the keyhole. His mind turned white…_

* * *

...Riku felt his heart ache at the memory. He was kneeling on one knee in the chambers of the dark castle. He was doing this for Kairi and that was all that mattered.

Maleficent stood in front of him, scowling. It took all within her to not kill him where he stood for what happened in Neverland. After all the planning she did, the alliances she made, and the worlds she searched, all it slowly came undone like melted butter. She was the only one left still standing after a decade of planning. Clayton was so consumed with darkness, he let a damn heartless fall on top of him, Jafar was permanently sealed in the magic lamp, Oogie Boogie was nothing more than vermin, Ursula was fried, and Hook is mostly likely a crocodile's dinner. There was still Hades, but who could trust him?

"It was reckless to bring her here without at least using a vessel. Remember, relying too heavily on the dark powers could cost you your heart," Maleficent warned, basically repeating the same words she said to Jafar, Hades, and everyone else. Yet they did not listen, the fools, and almost all of them perished in the process.

A beastly roar echoed throughout the castle. Someone was here; someone rather unhuman. Maleficent smirked, knowing exactly who it was.

"A castaway. Though his world perished, his heart did not. When we took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her here through sheer force of will. But fear not, no harm will come to you. He is no match for your power," she stated, feeding into his ego.

"My power?" Riku asked in confusion.

The fairy witch nodded. "Yes, the untapped power that lies within you. Now, child, it's time you awaken that power and unleash your full potential!" She waved her hand, and a green glow surrounded Riku. He began to feel powerful, felt the darkness fully take over him…...

...It was begging him to destroy Sora.

* * *

Wendy walked within the outside hallway of the clock tower. On the other side, Peter flew to match her every step.

"Peter, are you really going back to Neverland?" She asked in disappointment.

"Afraid so," he responded in regret, "But we can see each other any time. As long as you don't forget Neverland that is."

"I could never forget you, Peter Pan," Wendy said took her hands in his, and for a moment, nothing else mattered but them.

The group let the two have their moment until Donald started laughing at Tinkerbell's silent seething. May stepped on his foot to shut him up.

Tinkerbell glared at the exchange, turning red again. She thought she was rid of that big, ugly girl but Peter apparently was not ready to let her go. What was so special about her anyway? Tink decided she had enough. Seeing Wendy near Peter, trying to kiss him, might cause her to try to have her killed again. She flew around Peter to let him know that she was leaving with the group. She then sat on Sora's shoulder with her arms folded in irritation.

"Oh boy, she's gettin' steamed again. Dear me a favor and take care of her for me, will ya?" Peter requested of the group since he really did care about Tinkerbell, even if she acted weird whenever he was talking to another girl. He still couldn't put his finger on why.

"I had a real good time, Pete," May said, stepping forward. She held her hand out. Peter grinned and shook it. He then reached into his tights and pulled out a piece of paper. "I did too, May. You're a fun girl."

Tinkerbell (and Sora) rolled their eyes.

"Here, take this. I found it lying around the ship."May took the paper. It was another Ansem Report."And this," he added, giving her a small golden harp. "It's for Tink when you need to call her."

"Thanks, Pete. I'll see you again, some day," May promised.

"You better! I gotta teach ya some more pranks! Like this one that-"

Sora suddenly grabbed May's arm. "Come on, let's go."

"But-"

"Sorry, Peter but we have to go right now!" Sora said while dragging along a protesting May. Peter Pan looked at him in confusion.

When the gummi ship was called, the last thing Peter and Wendy saw of them was when they flew off in the ship. Peter looked at Wendy. "Do they like each other?"

"Perhaps," she answered, seeing the annoyed looks Sora sent Peter. It was certainly not a look she liked getting, particularly from Tinkerbell. She still remembered the tiny fairy's attempt to murder her.

"Hmph, they should just get it over already!" He replied, folding his arms. For his sake, she smiled innocently.

Why was it that Peter was aware of attraction when it came to Sora and May, but completely dense when it came to her?

* * *

Later on the gummi ship, May sat in the seat next to Sora. "Hey Babyface?"

"Hm?" He replied, seemingly lost in thought.

"Were you jealous of Peter and I?" She asked, making him blanch.

"What? Pfft, no."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Hmm...you do know that he's gonna be twelve forever right?"

"Why yes, Rini told me."

"..."

"...Are you smirking? You really are jealous aren't you?"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

Sarina frowned at their bickering. If this is what it's like to interact with a boy, she was kind of glad no boys were interested in her.

* * *

 _Ansem's Report #9_

 _Simply astonishing! Today I had a guest from another world. He is a king, and his vessel is built of the material that composed the meteors. He called the pieces "gummi blocks". It seemed that my opening the door has opened a path to interworld travel. We talked for countless hours, but one story in particular caught my interest: that of a key called the "Keyblade". The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it. I must know what this Keyblade is. A key opens doors. It must be connected to the door I have opened._


	12. Hollow Bastion

A/N: Are you ready for the longest chapter of this fic! I'm not but I hope y'all are!

* * *

"Looks like you found another one," Cid commented as he inspected the navigational piece in his hand. The group looked at him expectantly as they stood outside the Item Workshop in Traverse Town.

All except Sora.

' _I'm useless,'_ he thought bitterly, 'A _ll these weeks have passed and I found neither Kairi nor the King and Riku is a lost cause._ ' That last thought was perhaps more painful to him than anything else. _'My best friend since I could remember; a pawn for the Heartless. How did that happen?'_ He looked at the twins. How are they still hopeful?

May noticed how downtrodden he was and walked over to him as Cid went to install the navigational piece. "Are you alright?"

"No," he admitted, looking down towards the ground. May took his hand gently in sympathy. She didn't say anything, knowing that Sora was not in the mood to talk.

"Now, just remember what Donald said to ya; no frowning, no sad faces," Goofy told him, hoping to cheer him up. Sora shook his head in denial.

"How can you be so cheerful? There's still no sign of your king," he looked at the twins, "And your world has been in a comatose state for weeks. How are you guys not worried?"

"Aww phooey," Donald huffed, and Sora looked at him in disbelief.

"The king told us to go out and find the keyblade wielders, and we found you three. So as long as we stick together, it'll be okay. Ya just gotta believe in yourself, that's all," Goofy added.

"But-"

"We are worried," May cut in as she looked him in the eye, "More than anything. I think about my family every day. My mom, my dad, my sister, and my brothers. I even think about our cat and dog because I miss them too. But how can I move forward if I mope all the time? You have to be optimistic. You have to have hope and the drive to save your friends. It is a rather weird and horrifying scenario we're in and there's part of me that still think this is one long nightmare, but I know that if I don't have any hope, that I would get nothing done. This is scary, sure, but if we want to overcome it, then we got to think of those we love and pull through for them. Think of Riku and Kairi, your parents, and your teachers. Thinking of others gives people a chance to be strong, to be brave. Be brave, Sora," she finished. Sora stared at her in thought. May rarely called him by his actual name before.

"Believe in yourself, Sora," Goofy encouraged with a big smile on his face.

"Believe…," Sora said, trailing off into his mind.

 _'I believe in you Sora,'_ a voice that sounded exactly like Kairi's said from deep within him. He nearly jumped at the voice.

His mind turned to white…

* * *

 _He was flying through a stream of light towards an unknown destination. A white light surrounded him, and he was taken through a white portal into a colorless abyss._

 _'Where am I?'_

 _He soon found himself in a large library in a castle where an elderly woman sat in a chair. A little girl in a long white dress with purple floral print ran towards the old woman. He gasped at her familiar cherry red hair and blue-violet eyes. "Grandmom!" She called happily as she stood in front of the old woman._

 _'Kairi?'_

 _Her grandmother began to tell a story. "Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everybody loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves, and darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived...in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps deep within darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open, and the true light will return. So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi?" The old woman finished. "Kairi?" She called but soon found herself disappearing._

 _Young Kairi(and Sora) looked around frantically for her grandmother but to no avail._

 _Kairi, Sora thought as he reached out for her, but she then disappeared as well._

 _The bright light appeared again and blinded him._

* * *

When the light cleared, he found himself being shaken harshly by May. "Snap out of it!"

Sora caught her wrists and held them in place. "I'm alright! Geez!" He responded wearily.

"You were really out of it, Babyface. For like ten minutes. What the hell happened?" May asked him out of worry. However Sora could not bring himself to focus on her at the moment.

Was that Hollow Bastion? It seems so...warm. Not empty or creepy. He had no idea as to why he had that vision with Kairi and her grandmother. She spoke of her many times before as to how kind she was and how she was the only guardian she knew of. Kairi could not recall having ever known of her birth parents. But how could he experience one of her flashbacks? In fact, now that he thought about it, why did he keep having hallucinations of her? ' _She's everywhere and every time I hear of that place my chest burns.'_

"Are you alright?" Goofy asked him with everybody now giving him extremely concerned looks.

"I'm fine," he replied. ' _Not really.'_

Cid walked up to them. "I installed the navigational gummi. But ya know, that place is crawling with heartless. Don't saw I didn't warn you," he cautioned.

' _I have to go there for Kairi. In the end, I'll go through thousands of heartless AND Riku to save her!'_ Sora thought in determination.

* * *

The route to Hollow Bastion was perilous, worse than anything they had ever experienced. Never had so many ships tried to attack them and the many narrow pathways were just as bad. The Gummi Ship was most definitely covered in thousands of scratches at this point. Chip and Dale were going to kill them when they got back to Traverse Town.

"I have a bad feeling about this place." May started shivering for no reason, perhaps out of instinct. Sora himself also did not have a good feeling.

"That must be the world," Sarina had said.

The world in front of them was a colossal castle covered in machinery. A giant yellow heart with a X was planted on the front. The Heartless symbol. Cid was not kidding.

"It looks so creepy," May spoke again and he found himself agreeing.

"It's where the king might be," Goofy replied, "And where Sora's pals are."

As Donald landed the ship towards the world, Sora lost himself in his thoughts again.

' _Is this where it all ends? Where the king is? Where the princesses are? Is Kairi truly here or is this a lie? Is Hollow Bastion is just what it's named for? An empty castle?'  
_  
There was only one way to find out.

* * *

Miranda did what she did for the past week; lay on the bed and still wonder if she is in some nightmare. Deep down, she knew she was not. After all, she did pinch herself multiple times to make sure. But maybe it's true. ' _Maybe i'm just in some nightmare. If I wake up, I'll be back in the Bronx. I'll trigger my awakening by rolling off this bed right now!'_

She promptly rolled herself off the bed and landed on the hard ground with a loud thud. Miranda yelped as multiple spasms of pain shot up in various areas of her body. ' _Geez, what was I thinking? Am I starting to lose my mind?'  
_  
She's been at this creepy castle for about a week and yet it felt like forever. Her captors freaked her out and the fact that a real and actual Disney villain was one of her captors put her in chronically panicked state. ' _Maleficent wanted to have me killed! She told that guy that because I'm not one of those "princesses of heart", that I'm not useful and that I should be disposed of.'_ Strangely, the cloaked man spoke up for her, saying that she is useful in her own way and that no harm may come to her. She was confused; What did he want with her?

The door opened and the silver-haired boy named Riku walked in. Miranda felt unnerved by his presence. He was a year younger than her, and yet was very complicit in Maleficent and the cloaked man's plan.

"You are being moved. Sora and his friends has come," the boy told her, and Miranda noticed how he spat out his former friend's name like acid.

Despite her fear, she smiled inside.

' _They're coming.'_

* * *

"Gawrsh! Look at that!" Goofy pointed out in amazement. Everybody turned and gaped at the scene.

On top of a large cliff stood Hollow Bastion, surrounded by giant waterfalls that rose up instead of falling down. Platforms of rock stood stagnant in the air. The castle itself was beautiful in a haunted kind of manner. It held the impression of being grand and glorious before being covered in machinery.

It was also the same castle he saw in Deep Jungle. His chest jumped again. "I know this place…I feel this inside right here," he put his hand over his heart.

"Oh, you're just hungry," Donald said, doubtful. Sora turned to him in anger. "Hey! I'm serious!"

"Strangely enough, I feel it too. The princesses are here. I can feel them," May added, defending Sora. She did not want to tell anybody, especially since she originally brushed it off as stress, but she felt something when Alice and Jasmine were kidnapped. It was a brief flash of pain, and it was gone as fast as it came. It was almost as if it reacted the exact moment they were kidnapped. She shrugged the pain off, deciding it was nothing serious.

But now that they were in Hollow Bastion, several ringing sensations hit her chest. Six of them actually. ' _What is wrong with me?'_ She asked herself in worry.

"Let's go!" Sora said, turning back towards the waterfalls.

"But how?" May asked him.

Large bubbles floated around. One crashed into Donald and engulfed him, making him float inside. He was brought into the waters below.

"I guess that answers that," Goofy chuckled.

* * *

On the highest platform, Riku looked down at a rather beastly creature with a sneer. The monster was tall and had a hunched back. His fur was brown and his teeth sharp. He wore nothing but torn black pants and a purple cape.

"No vessel, no help from the Heartless, so tell me, how'd you get here?" Riku asked him, inwardly impressed by this beast's ambition. His world was destroyed and its princess taken, but this creature survived and charged all the way to this castle to save her. If this act of strong will wasn't so destructive to his plans, he would have been sympathetic if he weren't a little already. _'The things we would do for love.'_

"I simply believed. Nothing more to it," he spoke with a deep voice, "When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again no matter what the cost. I believed I would find her. So here I am. She MUST be here. I will have her back!" The Beast growled. He would rip the boy to shreds where he stood if it meant saving Belle.

Riku was not scared by the Beast in any manner because after all, he was empowered by Maleficent's magic. "Take her if you can!"

With a ferocious roar, Beast leaped up towards Riku for a strike, only for the silver-haired boy to jump out of the way. Riku summoned Soul Eater to finish him off as the creature tried to recover.

"Stop!" Sora called as he jumped onto the platform along with the rest of the party. Riku smirked; it was time.

"So you finally made it. About time. I've been waiting for you. We've always been rivals, haven't we? You've always pushed me as I've always pushed you."

"Riku…"

His eyes sharpened. "But it all ends here. There can't be two keyblade masters."

"Last time I checked, there are three keyblade wielders in this area and you don't have one buddy," the girl, May, replied coolly. Once again, she was right by Sora's side.

He smirked cruelly. "Well, let's narrow the competition. Let the keyblade choose its master."

He held his hand out and something unbelievable happened.

The keyblade in Sora's hand began to slip out of his hands, sending the brunette in a panic as he tried to hold on to it. It disappeared in a beam of light…

...and reappeared in Riku's hands.

"How?" he heard May utter in a mix of bewilderment and shock. She looked at Donald and Goofy. "How is that possible?"

Riku observed the silver key in his hands for a moment, enjoying the feel of it in his hands. He also relished the collective looks of shock among the party.

"Maleficent was right. You don't have what it takes to save Kairi. It's up to me. Only a keyblade master could open the secret door and change the world."

"If this secret door gets opened by the likes of you then I fear for the safety of the worlds," May hissed as she took Sora's arm. "No true hero would pull half the heinous bullshit you've been doing for the past three weeks."

 _'Insult me all you want, you Kairi replacement. You and your friend have lost,'_ Riku thought to himself. He'll kill her first.

"This is impossible," Sora said denial, "How can this happen?" He finished with his voice barely being above a whisper.

"It's simple. You're not cut for it," Riku replied bluntly. May glared at him with the intensity of a thousand suns. The pure unadulterated rage in her eyes nearly unnerved him but he quickly got over it. _'Her eyes have turned bright in anger. She really does like him doesn't she? Pathetic.'_

"How? I'm the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!" Sora yelled passionately, but inside he was numb. He thought back to Traverse Town, where Riku has picked up his keyblade before. ' _And it came back to me then...but now?'_

"You were just the delivery boy. Sorry, your part's over now. Here, go play with this."

His toy sword skidded across to his feet and Sora did not know if he wanted to touch it. He glanced blankly at it. Then he collapsed to his knees in front of it. May went immediately to him and tried to help him up.

"Babyface, come up. Get up, he's getting away," she pleaded desperately.

"It's over," he rejected. ' _My keyblade doesn't belong to me, anymore.'  
_  
For Donald and Goofy, it seemed that a part of their whole was a waste. The keyblade no longer supported Sora and it followed Riku. Shouldn't they follow him now?

Donald looked up at Goofy. "Goofy. Girls. Let's go. We have to remember our mission."

"What?" The twins yelled simultaneously.

"I'm not leaving without Sora!" May barked as she still crouched next to Sora. "He's been with you for this entire time and you two assholes are going to just toss away him like trash? What about all for one and one for all?"

"You don't mean to leave him to defend himself with that toy sword, do you?" Sarina asked in anger.

Donald folded his arms stubbornly. "He's no longer a keyblade wielder. He's of no use to us. Now come with us."

May spat on the ground in response. Sarina simply frowned at the two of them.

Donald huffed. "Fine. We probably don't need you two anyway!"

Goofy looked at the three teenagers in regret. "Oh! Well, I know the King told us to follow the keyblade wielders and all but…"

With one final, sorrowful look, he left the three of them and walked off with Donald.

"Sora, sorry," Donald lamented as he went.

May growled for a moment, then she balled up her fists. "Sorry my...my...Pfft. Enjoy following that jackass around," she mumbled bitterly.

"It's true. I'm no good," Sora whispered quietly to himself as he began to cradle his toy sword.

By now, Beast had regained his strength and rose. Or so he thought he did as he started to plop right back to the ground.

Sora and May ran to hold him up with all their strength.

"Whoa buddy! You might not want to over exert yourself!" May said in an effort to calm him down.

Beast looked at them out of confusion. "Why...why did you two come here?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I came to fight for Belle," he rose up again, "And though I am on my own, I will fight. I won't leave without her. That's why I'm here."

"Well, you'll need all the help you can get. Right, Rini?" May asked as Sarina took out a potion and raised to Beast's lips. He drank it all in seconds and nodded at her in gratitude.

Sora took his toy sword in hand and walked up to them. "Me too. I'm not going to give up now. I came here to find someone very important to me." He then frowned, "And I'll find her, even if I have to fight with a toy."

"Well, I got your back," May proclaimed.

"We won't allow you to fail," Sarina added with a smile. Sora grinned at the both of them. The twins, especially May, had become dear friends to him. And the fact that they chose to stick by him when he's reduced to practically nothing, said a lot of how loyal they were to them. He looked back at Beast. "See? These two are the best girls to have around. Let's work together!"

Beast allowed himself to smile a little. "Alright then."

* * *

Getting inside the castle was tricky. The party had to ride on a platform just to reach the castle gates. Past the gates were ledges with no railings which made it rather easy to fall down to a certain doom. The sky eerily seemed to be locked in twilight. Once inside the castle, the walkways were even worse. Heartless crowded around the large castle more so than any other world and they held much more power. A group of them, Wizards, loved to cast powerful magic spells and heal its allies. Sora shouldn't have been so surprised when his toy weapon proved to be rather useless, but he was frightened at the fact that the Heartless often attacked him first, especially in the Waterways, where the paths were waist deep in water. He had to call on Beast and the twins to save him multiple times. Beast was a vicious fighter as he preferred to rip his enemies into shreds and cut them down as if they were old ribbons. His namesake was truly earned if that is all he went by.

' _That's the kind of fighting I need if I ever hope to survive this place,'_ he acknowledged somewhat bitterly. ' _Since I'm useless.'_ He did not like this feeling. He most definitely did not expect to ever experience this feeling. ' _Riku just snatched it out of me like he did whenever he wanted to play with my sword. It's gone from my grasp, just like that and it just flew to him! 'Donald and Goofy got the right of it._ _I'm not the the keyblade's chosen. Riku is, which makes sense as he was always better than me. He's smarter than me, older than me, stronger than me, and looks his age while I still look like a kid! It always comes back to Riku. Maybe he really IS Kairi's true hero. He's probably not a burden to Donald and Goofy like I am to the twins and Beast.'_

If someone could read his thoughts, they would try to talk some sense into him. That these thoughts were unhealthy and that he shouldn't be so hard on himself. ' _But I've been hearing these comments my whole life so they must be true.'_

"This big door better lead somewhere or I'm going to snap," he heard May grumble. He looked up and saw a pink door that must have been more than a couple feet long.

It opened up anonymously and the group walked in.

* * *

All the Princesses of Heart were contained in their own individual pods in the Grand Hall. Kairi was sealed in her own glass chamber.

Maleficent entered the hall, smugly smiling. In the center, she lifted her hands up into the air. "O purest of hearts! Reveal to me the Keyhole!"

A pink beam poured forth from every princess in the room, powering up a portal at the front resembling the Heartless symbol. The keyhole indeed would get power from every last princess...

...Except from a princess whose heart was missing.

* * *

The party entered the Entrance Hall. Beast sniffed around the area and detected something.

"Be on your guard. They're close, I can feel it. Are you ready for them?" He warned them.

"We're always ready for anything! Right Babyface?" May asked Sora, trying to hype him up. Sora simply nodded and walked up.

Beast felt a presence behind him. He looked around and saw Belle standing in a dark room. "Belle?" He asked, deeply relieved that she was found so easily. However, she disappeared in a puff of darkness, and a Shadow appeared in her place. Beast roared at the deception and charged towards the heartless with savage intent. The doors behind him shut immediately, leaving Sora and the twins on their own.

"How could he fall for that so easily?" May said, annoyed. "And now he's gone!"

"Which is why you should just quit while you can." Riku suddenly appeared with Donald and Goofy beside him. May turned towards him.

"After losing my world, getting a keyblade, spending three weeks on a ship with the constant threat of being under attack, traveling through all these worlds, fending off hundreds of vicious monsters, and probably will getting be nightmares from this experience for years to come, there's no way in hell I'm going to just quit and let you, some creep in coat, and Maleficent achieve the ultimate evil plan and cackle evilly like a bunch of cartoon villains. I think I've read enough stories to know that a good tale such as this one doesn't end on a such a boring note," she told him.

"You really think I'll just let you guys come in here, take Kairi, and leave? No, you will not leave here alive. So Sora, just turn around and go back to your island."

"Nice threat. You have the ability to back it up?" May replied nonchalantly.

"It's our island, Riku! Your home, my home, Kairi's home! Have you really lost yourself that badly that you'll turn your back on your own world? And I'm not leaving here without Kairi!" Sora shot back, balling his fist.

Riku did not respond but let the darkness within him overtake him. His outfit changed completely, turning into a skintight purple and black piece resembling muscle tissue. A white cloth was wrapped around his waist, aligned with purple belts.

"The darkness will destroy you," he warned, summoning his sword, Soul Eater.

"You're wrong, Riku. The darkness may destroy my body but it won't destroy my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It'll never die!" Sora cried out as he clutched his chest.

Riku glared darkly at him. Then he began to charge up a dark version of Fira in his palm.

"Really? Then we'll see about that!" He shot the dark spell towards Sora in a fast manner so that none of the twins could save Sora…

...and Goofy suddenly jumped in front of Sora and blocked the attack with his shield. All the teens gasped in shock at the notion, and even Riku's eyes widened in brief shock.

"Sora ain't gonna go anywhere!" The royal knight boasted proudly. Riku narrowed his eyes at him. "You'd betray your king?"

"Not on your life!" Goofy replied. Then he looked at Sora. "But I'm not gonna betray Sora either 'cause he's become one of my best buddies after all we've been through together!" Goofy waved at Donald, who was still beside Riku. "See ya later Donald! Could ya tell the king I'm really sorry?"

"Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together!"

The court wizard ran as fast as he could to the rest of the party. May looked down at him blankly, hiding her relief within. "Wow, what's with the sudden change in morals?"

Donald rubbed his head awkwardly. "Well you know, all for one and one for all."

May blinked down at him, then smiled happily. "Good because-," she suddenly went forward, pulled at both of his cheeks tightly, and leaned in real close to his face, and quietly finished with "If you guys ever pull that again, you won't be going back to Disney Castle in one piece, got it buddy?" She gave him a frightening grin.

"Yeah," Donald squeaked in pain. May released his face cheerfully with a more sweeter smile.

"Yay! Hooray for friendship!" She pumped her fist in the air in joy. Donald rubbed his cheeks, frowning. She's a scary one for sure…

"I guess you're stuck with us, kids." Goofy said, relieved to be at Sora's side again. After all, his friend wasn't pleasant company. How did they become friends?

"I'm glad for it," Sarina replied pleasantly.

Sora looked down at the ground. "Thanks, you guys. Donald, Goofy."

He wanted to say more but Riku interrupted him. "How will you fight without a weapon?"

"I know now I don't need the Keyblade. I got a better weapon, my heart," Sora said, defiance in his eyes. May snickered beside him.

"Wow, such cornball," She teased, but in a playful manner. He stuck his tongue at her childishly.

Riku chuckled himself at such ridiculous words. "Your heart, huh? What good will that weak little thing do for you?" He summoned Sora's keyblade just to mock him further.

Sora stepped forward. "Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's growing with each new experience and it's found a new home with all the friends I made. I've become part of their heart just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me every now and then, if they don't forget about me, then our hearts will become one," he took out his sword triumphantly and got into battle position, "I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power."

Riku gasped as the keyblade in his hand disappeared and reappeared in Sora's hands. "What's going on? Why is it going back to Sora? I'm the chosen one! I AM!"

"Ha! The keyblade knows a real hero when it sees one!" May taunted. Sora said nothing, but glared at his former friend with determination.

Riku charged towards Sora with vicious intent, and Sora charged towards him with the same intent. Their blades clashed against one another, causing sparks to fly. They slashed at each other, only for the both of them to block their attacks. The rest of the party stood back as the two of them danced across the hall. This was their battle, and their battle alone. For once, they were evenly matched. Riku was fast with his attacks but Sora was skilled at blocking him. Riku tried to jam Soul Eater into Sora's chest but to no avail. Sora jumped back and swung down at the latter's legs. Riku fell back on the floor before retaliating by jumping up and slamming the keyblade in Sora's face. Sora saw stars in his line of vision before tumbling onto the floor.

Riku raised his blade high in the air to finish him off, when May's keyblade knocked it out of his hand. Riku hissed in pain as he held his wrist.

As they descended further into Hollow Bastion, May felt the princess's presence inside of her. She could hear their voices crying for help, for someone to save them. ' _But why me?'_ She asked herself repeatedly. She even felt as if something was getting sucked out of her. It was no pleasant feeling. But looking at this fight gave May a thought. If she could sense the princesses' presence, then what's to say they can't sense hers? She had reached out to them for whatever help they could give her. And the help was in the form of white light. She felt a surge of power and now she was glad for the strange voices. ' _However weird this is, at least I have this!'_

She found her body glowing white as she stomped over to Riku. For some reason, she now had the courage to stand in his face.

"I won't let you kill Sora! I won't! I'll put you in such a horrid state that not even the Mistress of All Evil can patch your body back up," She spat at him. Riku flipped back as she tried to slash at him.

He casted Dark Fira towards her, but a thin white barrier blocked it from touching her.

"What? Who are you?" He demanded of her. _'Is she a- no she can't be!'_

"Someone who's gonna give you a world of pain!" May yelled as she jumped forward with her keyblade. She managed to hit him on his side, making him wince.

By then, Sora snapped out of his delirium and ran up on Riku. Sora struck at his feet while May aimed for his head. With miraculous speed, Riku dodged both attacks. He rolled away from them.

"Oh I don't think so!" May taunted as she hurled her keyblade like a boomerang at him. Her keyblade was glowing white too, and it hit Riku in the chest with great vigor.

"Blizzara!" Sora called as long ice shards slammed repeatedly into Riku, but with not enough power to kill him. Riku's limbs were sore, however, and he knew that his dark powers were about to fade. _'Can't let him do that. I have to win. But how?'_

He sensed a presence. Quickly, he turned and tripped May over with his blade as she failed to attack him. She fell on her back with a loud thud. It seems that she had a brash streak like his former friend.

 _'Time to answer my question and see if I'm right.'_ Before she could get up, he thrust his arm inside her chest and grabbed her heart causing her to yelp and her eyes to bulge out. Immediately, he wanted to scream at the sheer pain as it felt like his hand was melting. But he just bit his lip. The girl was screaming as she was flailing. She pleaded for him to stop as her vision became blurry and black spots filled it up. May desperately clawed at his arm as the ability to breath slowly left her but he just held it tighter. She started choking as he gripped it harshly and her strength left her. He could see the life vanishing from her eyes. He could kill her right then and there, and he truly wanted to, but he had a plan.

Sora froze in horror. "Riku, what, what are you doing?" Sarina mouth dropped in shock, and despite wanting to save her twin, could not find the strength to move.

Riku gathered the will to squeeze her heart into unconsciousness. The white light around her disappeared and her eyes rolled back into her head as her world became black. ' _Sora…,'_ was her last conscious thought. He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.

"NO, RIKU NO!" Sora pleaded, and before he knew it, he was running. But Riku was faster, and he bolted out of the hall with May in tow. The door slammed roughly.

Sora tried with all his might to rip it open but it was shut tight. He banged on the door with the tiniest hope that Riku may change his mind. "Please Riku! Come back!"

"MAY!" Sarina shrieked, pulling at her hair in agony. Her body burned in panic and her memories of her twin flashed before her very eyes. She collapsed to the ground and clawed on the rug beneath her. Donald and Goofy desperately tried to calm the both of them down but it was no use.

Beast ran back into the room, and both Sora and Sarina briefly stopped to look at him.

"Did your heart win?" He asked Sora.

The room quickly descended into chaos again.

* * *

 _'Why did Riku take May? Why did I let May get taken away like that? I was right there!'_

Sora thought as he held a sobbing Sarina close to him. He could still hear May's screams as Riku rammed his arm into her chest. Or the way her life seeped from her eyes.

May spent her time with him, protecting him with her life. She always had his back, and the one time she needed him the most, he could not protect her.

"It's my fault," Sarina wailed. He shook his glumly.

"No, no, it's my fault! I was right there and I could not-"

"It's neither of your faults!" Donald interrupted fiercely. "We can't just mope around! Let's get going and save May already!"

Sarina stared at him for a few moments before rising. She wiped her tears away. "Yes, let's save her. And we'll rescue the Lady Belle too." Beast grunted in agreement.

"May's a tough girl, I'd reckon she'll save herself!" Goofy added.

Sora stood up as well and smiled. "You guys are right. Let's get going."

* * *

Riku ran down the halls, out of breath and with May on his shoulder. He dropped May unceremoniously on the ground and paused for a moment.

He was upset over what has transpired moments ago. He had thought he had won over Sora by proving to him that he was the real wielder of the Keyblade. But the Keyblade turned its back on him and went right back to its previous owner. "Why? It was mine."

He wasn't even angry over it, just bitter and confused. ' _I did everything and he did nothing yet the Keyblade chose him.'_

"Know this," the Cloaked Figure appeared, "The heart that is strong and true shall win the keyblade."

"What? You're saying my heart is weaker than his?" It couldn't possibly be true, could it?

"For that instant, it was. However, you can become stronger. You showed no fear in stepping through the door to darkness. It held no terror to you. Plunge deeper into the darkness, and heart will grow even stronger."

Riku shook his head. "What should I do?"

"It's quite simple. Open yourself to the darkness. That is all. Let your heart, your being, become darkness itself."

Riku smiled as his body began to glow green. The Cloaked Figure turned his attention towards May now.

"Tell me, why have you brought the girl here?"

* * *

She remembered a hand squeezing her heart until everything was black. Was she dead? Hopefully not, this seemed to be purgatory. A pure, colorless reality. To be stuck here until someone prayed for her soul would be a bummer. She knew her twin was in despair right now, because after all, she was her sister's only friend. Rini was an introvert who wasn't really good at making friends with others. So she clung only to her twin to speak for her. May didn't really mind because isn't that what most twins do? She didn't want to leave Rini on her own, or any of her siblings behind.

"So I see the path has emerged at last," a voice spoke, one that sound deep yet boyish at the same time. _'Huh?'_ Her body was suddenly sensing two very dark presences in the room. _'So why can't I wake up?'_

"Yes. The Keyhole to darkness." _'Oh God, is that Maleficent?'  
_  
She must have been kidnapped, but why?

"Unlock it, and the heartless will overrun this world," the male voice warned.

The smugness in Maleficent's voice was sickening. "What do I care? The darkness holds no power of me. Rather, I will use its power to rule all other worlds."

May desperately wanted to open her eyes since apparently her mind was awake. The fact that she was in close proximity with the queen of all Disney Villains was terrifying. And Sora's friend brought her to them for some reason.

And she did sense Riku, but she also sensed another male that was strangely intertwined with him.

"Such confidence," the male said, and she felt him summon something.

"Oh," Maleficent said gleefully.

A couple seconds passed.

"Impossible! But seven Princesses of Heart are here! And we even have an additional one!"

An additional one? Who? Surely not...

"The boy had her among him this entire time."

...Her.

"She may not act like a princess, but the boy, Riku, felt no darkness in her. His hand burned the second he touched her heart."

She was a princess of heart. She, of all the maidens of all the worlds out there. Not her twin, Rini, who was the epitome of feminine grace and beauty. She was.

' _This is the epitome of irony.'_

She wanted to laugh so hard rivers would stream down her face but alas, she was unconscious.

"We already had seven before this one. The Keyhole should have opened! It must be her, the red headed girl. The one that puppet of mine is so hopelessly in love with."

There was only one girl that she heard of, that Sora's evil best friend was in love with.

Kairi. She was also a Princess of Heart. That's why she was in this castle.

"Without her heart, she will never be able to release her power. We might end up having to use the other one," the male voice said.

"Then we should put her in her own chamber."

 _'You'll have to kill me for that. And a dead heart is no good.'_

"Let's wait for that. I have a feeling there is a reason the girl's heart is not inside of her."

They were quiet again. Must have sensed something.

"The King's fools are here," Maleficent spoke, "I'll deal with them myself. You stay here and guard the princesses."

May wanted to warn her friends for the inevitable battle with Maleficent. Only Rini knew how dangerous Maleficent could get.

She had to wake up. Soon.

May called for help within her.

* * *

The party entered the Castle Chapel, which was devoid of any light.

Maleficent smiled evilly as they stopped in front of her in shock.

"I'm afraid you're too late. Any moment now, the final Keyhole will be unsealed. This world will plunge into darkness! It is unstoppable!"

Sora and Sarina drew out their keyblades, and everyone else drew out their weapons as well.

"We'll stop it! After coming this far, there's no way we're gonna let that happen!" Sora cried out.

"You will hand back Belle to me or else I'll tear this whole world apart!" Beast added.

The evil fairy sneered at them. "You poor, simple fools. You think you can defeat me? Me, The mistress of all evil?"

Maleficent held her arms out as the ground below her suddenly raised in the air.

* * *

 _"May! Where's my Princess Leia doll?" Angie barked as she barged into her room. This was the period they didn't like each other as they were very different but yet also the same in personality._

 _"How would I know?" Her seven year old replied as she played on her Playstation._

 _Her sister flailed her arms rapidly. "Because you don't like princesses!"_

 _"That's right. I don't like stupid princesses, but that doesn't mean I took your doll! Now go away, I'm about to kill the God of War!"_

 _"Give it back!" Angie yelled. She paused her game in frustration and looked at her younger sister._

 _"I don't have your stupid princess doll! I hate princesses! They're boring!"_

 _An argument had ensued then, and if it weren't their father, it most likely would have descended into a fight._

 _Later, they found Gabriel in his room playing doctor with Princess Leia. He had chosen to perform surgery this time, like their Mom did, which translated to him stabbing the doll repeatedly with kiddie scissors. Michael was pretending to copy down notes on his LeapFrog, and was dressed in his doctor costume he wore for Halloween last year._

* * *

Sora rolled away from a Defender as it tried to bite him with its shield. Defenders were rather simple, they resembled knights. It was the massive shield with the design of a vicious beast that they all carried that was a problem. Maleficent had summoned two of them while she cackled from her high platform.

Full frontal attacks didn't work against the Defenders as they had their shields up and was to counter brutally. He learned this the hard way as he was sent flying into the Chapel wall.

"Fira!" He overheard Sarina yell.

Maleficent blocked the attack with her scepter. "Foolish girl." Sarina shrieked as she barely dodged Maleficent's own Fira.

* * *

'Come on! This inner power thing looked so easy in movies!'

May tried to gather focus and find the power within. But it was proving to be a rather difficult task.

 _'I know for sure they're fighting that evil harpy! Come on, body, WAKE UP!'_

* * *

"Meteors of Heaven! Unleash thy fury!" Maleficent called as she rather tired of playing with the King's fools. The Beast had managed to reach her, and got a few slashes in before she pushed him back. The duck and dog hadn't even stood a chance as they lay knocked out on the ground.

Dozens of meteors, large and small, flew into the group. As the group recovered from the attack, Maleficent had disappeared.

The Beast heard her laugh in the air and followed it all the way to the other side of the Chapel.

Maleficent reappeared and casted Thundara onto the Beast, electrocuting him.

* * *

 _It was an especially hot day, but she found herself not caring. She was born 10 hours ahead of Rini on one of the sunniest days of the year, of course she wouldn't mind the sun._

 _As the sun sweltered down on her she practiced swinging a bat. She loved hot days where the sun shined the brightest, especially on a game day. Even if she was only in the junior league, she took her team seriously as if she was in the big leagues._

 _"Toss me the ball!" She ordered her little brother to do. Michael threw the ball as strong as he could for a five year old. The ball landed in front of her by a couple feet. She sighed as she walked over to him._

 _"No, silly, this is how you throw a ball…"_

* * *

Maleficent resisted the urge to swear as the dumb dog shielded the duck away from her dark beams. The battle was starting to not work in her favor, much to her irritation.

"Gravity!" The duck shouted as the platform she was on plummeted to the ground. Before she knew it, she was on the ground with the Beast trying to maul her.

"Begone!" She knocked him away with her spear, but the boy rammed into her and repeatedly struck her body with his own keyblade. She was then bombarded with Fira, and she skidded across the floor.

She needed to leave the Chapel or else they will destroy her.

Maleficent summoned a portal and backed into it.

 _'I'll show them my real form, and I will kill them all.'_

Sarina cringed at what was coming next.

Maleficent was going to unleash her dragon form.

* * *

 _She laid on the grass, picking the leaves off a branch. She just climbed a tree and plucked a branch off of it. She climbed right back down and decided to just lie down for a couple of hours. Her Mom-Mom was on the porch anyway, albeit sleeping. Mom-Mom had a bad habit of sleeping when she's supposed to be watching her grandkids. If she was, then she wouldn't have been able to climb that tree. Daddy didn't like her tree climbing, and Mom-Mom sided more with her son-in-law than her daughter._

 _It was a cool day and the wind was blowing gently. She liked the wind; it was free and it could go anywhere she wanted._

 _The clouds were nice, she supposed. Her brother loved watching clouds. Even as a little baby, he would stare up into the sky and watched them float around._

 _She remembered eventually taking her own nap, until her mom's voice woke her up as she was scolding her Mom-Mom._

 _She liked the feeling of air blowing in her face, but not as much as the feeling of the sun rays hitting her skin._

* * *

Maleficent was heaving for her life as she dragged to the outside of the castle in a secret area.

Riku appeared behind. "Do you need help?" His voice was much deeper in an inhuman manner.

"Riku!" Sora called as he and the party ran up to the two of them. Donald's eyes widened when he saw the object in Riku's hand. It's blade and teeth was onyx and its handle was a blood red.

"Is that-,"

"Yes," Riku finished, "A keyblade," he looked at Sora, "But unlike yours, this Keyblade holds the power to unlock people's hearts. Allow me to demonstrate."

He turned around and plunged his Keyblade into Maleficent's chest. The fairy witch stumbled back in pain. She felt several spasms hit her body as a dark cloud surrounded her body.

"Wha-"

"Now, open your heart, surrender it to the darkness! Become darkness itself!"

He took his Keyblade out of her chest as the ground shook violently. He disappeared into a portal, his task completed.

Maleficent looked over herself gleefully. "This is it! This is power! Darkness...The true darkness!"

Green fire erupted around her as she lifted her hands into the air. And she began to transform…

She grew taller, and bigger, with her green skin turning into black scales. Her red nails turned into sharp claws, and her black robes disappeared under the green fire. Her bare belly became purple, and her jaw was long and full of ragged teeth. Her eyes became thin beads of green as black wings sprouted from her back.

The fairy witch was gone and a giant black dragon stood in her place.

The party looked at her with horrified looks on their faces.

"A dragon, no, no way," Sora said in horror. "They're not real, they're not supposed to be re-"

The dragon roared.

* * *

Even in her unconscious state of mind, she knew something was wrong in the air. Riku had left his duty temporarily, but came back a half hour later, gloating.

"Everything I had planned has come into fruition."

That was definitely not good. She felt him leave again and she had to act fast soon.

She hoped that this memory hopping trip her mind was putting her through had a purpose. ' _Come on, princesses, help me…'_

* * *

The entire field was covered in fallen debris, rubble, and green fire. Dragon Maleficent stomped around field, causing tremors with every step and trying to burn their bones black.

Sora knew this battle was going to be the worst one yet when the dragon's roar alone pushed them all back. As a dragon. Maleficent was ferociously powerful. No one had landed a hit on her yet as they were all too busy trying to live.

Sora wanted May to be here, even if it most likely wouldn't have made this situation any better.

He dodged yet another stream of fire.

* * *

 _"What are you drawing?" Her mother asked, curious. Her father looked up from his reading as well._

S _he wasn't surprised because drawing was not her preferred method of art. She was okay with it, but she was always one for music, especially dancing._

 _She had drawn a sun with a spear running through it. She'd seen the image in one of her father's favorite books, the one where there was a lot of violence, swearing, and grown ups doing that thing where they touch each other while naked. But there was also dragons, warriors, and ice zombies. Even though she did not understand a lot of the big words, she loved reading them. She snuck down to the office and read them night when Daddy wasn't awake. If Daddy caught her reading them, she receive a long scolding as to why she shouldn't read grownup books like Daddy always did when she was caught reading his grownup books. Daddy was such a nag. She didn't care; that book about a hobbit, that other book about a lion, a witch, and a wardrobe, and that one about that wizard school were boring._

 _Much to her dismay, her father looked at the picture with suspicion._

 _"May, this picture is very nice. In fact, it looks just like the symbol of a house from this book I'm reading. Doesn't it?"_

 _She was not one to rise to the bait. She looked at Daddy innocently. "I made it up, Daddy."_

 _Her mother sighed. "I remember when I use to do the same. She's just like me."_

 _"She's TOO much like you, Meda and she's only nine! She's not reading A Song of Ice and Fire!"_

 _Her mother rolled her eyes. "You're such a nag, Jerry. At the end of the day, we influence our kids, not TV, not cartoons, and definitely not books. Just put in an area she can't reach it."_

 _"Stop calling me a nag in front of the kids, Meda. I've seen those news reports-"_

 _As her parents began to bicker over something they'll inevitably laugh about an hour later, May began to color in her drawing._

 _The sun with the spear looked great in light yellow with solar rays taking up the entire picture._

 _It was like it was in real life; bright and powerful._

* * *

Sarina was surprised that Beast was the first to fall. He was a force to be reckoned in the castle and the fact Dragon Maleficent took him out with one single swipe made her lose hope that the rest of them was going to last any longer.

She dragged his unconscious body all the way to a hidden corner with the help of Donald and Goofy. She tried using Cura on him, but it was clear he was going to be out even with the medicine.

She decided to keep watch over him and protect him if the Dragon discovered them.

Soon, Donald ran into the corner on fire.

* * *

 _'Alright. What is all this supposed to mean? All these memories I'm experiencing, for what?'  
_  
She had accepted being a Princess of Heart because what else can she do about it? Protest loudly and whine about it? That would not change the situation except release her anger for a couple of hours. She was never a lady, definitely not a princess, but her world had chosen her anyway. It was best to do her duty.

Once again, the sun in all its fiery glory popped in her mind again. She could feel the intense heat, but strangely it was comforting and she didn't want to shield her eyes. She always loved its brightness and the way the rays shone over the Earth.

It was decided.

She wanted the power of the Sun.

* * *

May woke up immediately. White light clouded her vision, and while it faded, her entire body was covered in a white glow.

She summoned her keyblade in her hand and stood up off the ground.

Kairi was still unconscious on the ground, and May finally got the chance to get a good look at her. She was definitely very beautiful, with cherry red hair and rosy lips. She could see why Sora and Riku would search worlds for her. She would have to come back to save her, with Sora, as she had this aching feeling everyone was in danger.

She looked at her keyblade. She realized that she had never named her it, even though all of the coolest blades have names.

"Come on, Sunlight. We have rescuing to do."

* * *

The image of a full moon crashed into Sarina's mind.

"Huh?" She asked to herself as she to started to glow silver.

When Dragon Maleficent caused another shockwave, a phrase fell from Sarina's lips that she suddenly knew how to say.

"MOON SHIELD!"

A silver shield form around her and the wounded. The shield deflected the blow back to the Dragon, making it stumble.

"What was that Sarina?" Sora questioned, scratching his head in confusion.

Suddenly, he went flying from Maleficent smacking him away with her tail.

Before he hit the ground, he landed on another silver shield and bounced off it. Sarina had called for another one.

Determined, Sora ran over and crawled onto its tail, and held on for dear life as Maleficent tried to swing him off. He crawled up her back, and miraculously reached her head.

 _'If I drive my keyblade into her skull, she'll surely die,'_ he thought to himself as he lifted his keyblade in the air, preparing to strike a fatal blow.

The next couple of seconds happened in a blur. Suddenly, his back was on floor, ringing with pain, and Dragon Maleficent stood over him, opening up her mouth to incinerate him.

Then she paused and looked over to the entrance to the Castle Chapel.

May looked at her, glaring as she glowed in gold along with her keyblade.

May simply said nothing as she lifted her keyblade up into the air.

"SUNBURST!" May called as balls of fire rained down on the Dragon. While Dragon Maleficent was able to dodge every one, she flinched in pain at the ones that hit her.

Dragon Maleficent retaliated by blowing a long stream of fire at May, who rolled out of the way.

Having enough, May simply hurled her keyblade at the Dragon's chest with lightning speed.

The Dragon could only look in horror as the keyblade hit her in her heart.

Blood poured down her chest as the Dragon looked at the keyblade in shock before stumbling to the ground, dead. Her body erupted into green flames, and soon she was nothing more than a giant puddle of black blood. A bright red summon gem was found amidst the puddle.

"May!" Sarina yelled as she ran into her sister's embrace. "You're alright!"

May rubbed her twin's head affectionately, and the gold and silver glows disappeared from both of their bodies. "Of course I am. Changed, but alright."

Sora and the rest of the group ran over to the girl in relief but Sora was confused. "What do you mean 'changed'?"

"I feel rejuvenated! Awesome! And I finally named my keyblade!" May held her blade proudly in the air. "Say hello to Sunlight!"

Sarina looked down on her own. What could she name it? She had never thought about naming her weapon until now.

May seemed to read her twin's mind. "Why don't you name yours Moonlight, Rini? After all, it would match up with mines!"

"Okay...but what happened to me? I think I've changed as well," Sarina stated. Although she no longer glowed silver, she still felt an immense power grow with her. And the image of a full moon was still sitting in her mind.

"I dunno, but I think we're some kind of Wonder Twins now!"

Riku appeared and walked over the black blood. He looked down at it in disdain. "How ironic. She was just another puppet after all."

"What?" Donald asked.

"The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning. She failed to notice the darkness in her eating away at her heart. A fitting end for such a fool," he directed his attentions towards May, "Hmph. You have escaped, for now."

He stepped back into a portal and disappeared for the time being.

May turned towards the group. "I know where Belle and Kairi are at."

* * *

The doors to the Grand Hall opened, and the party walked in.

When Sora laid his eyes on the six pods for the first time, his chest burned again. Clutching it, he looked at the lifeless bodies of Alice and Jasmine in horror.

This is where they've been this entire time. ' _We couldn't prove Alice's innocence nor keep her safe in the end. And Jasmine was taken from us when we weren't looking. We should have made sure she was safe from Jafar...and Riku.'_

He felt incredibly guilty, however it was nowhere near what Beast was probably feeling.

Beast lunged at the pod containing Belle immediately but was stopped by May tugging his cape.

"Not yet," she warned. While she was indeed disturbed by the lifeless state of the women who were part of her childhood (especially Alice who was only ten years old!), something was keeping their bodies in a comatose state.

The young women were Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Alice, and Jasmine. The pure hearted maidens of their worlds who were brutally snatched and imprisoned in a creepy castle while their worlds were either destroyed or were slowly withering away to darkness. Wonderland and Agrabah might have been in a safer place due to their keyholes being sealed, but the other worlds were obliterated from what she gathered from Maleficent and Riku's gloating.

They needed only seven princesses. If they needed more...If they needed more, well then she would have came to Hollow Bastion in a rather different fashion. ' _They would have had me faster than three weeks.'_ That cloaked guy was on Earth after all. She was glad he hadn't sensed that she was a princess of her own world. Then she would have been screwed.

However the seventh princess came with a big problem; Kairi's heart was missing. And without her heart, Riku and Mal's plan was falling flat. She would have laughed at their failure if it weren't for the fact that one, the other girl's heart was missing and something or someone had it, and two, she was the backup in case they never found Kairi's heart. She remembered Riku's hand around her heart, squeezing it, and she got chills down her spine. Her heart pumped faster. ' _That silver haired jerk will get a beat down from me, and then a stern talking to because he needs it.'_

"I'll stay here. With Belle," Beast said firmly. The group looked at him and nodded.

* * *

They headed down the hallway and walked up the stairs.

Goofy walked into the force field along with Sarina, and the both of them were immediately knocked out. Sarina tumbled down the stairs and almost broke her neck, but Goofy broke her fall.

May and Donald looked at the scene in alarm. ' _Where did a magical force field come from?'_ May thought in panic.

Sora spotted Kairi on the ground, lifeless. Before he knew it, he was running. "Kairi!"

He cradled her in his arms. "Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!"

"It's no use," Riku said as he rested arrogantly on the top of the Heartless-shaped portal in his new outfit. "That girl has lost her heart. She cannot wake up."

It was then that Sora had finally noticed the change in Riku's voice. It was sounded as if two people were speaking in the same body. He laid Kairi gently back on the ground.

"What? You...You're not Riku."

"The keyhole can not be completed so long as the last princess of heart still sleeps." He jumped down to the floor to another level and summoned his keyblade.

Sora looked down at his best friend in confusion. "The princess? Kairi's a princess."

"Yes, and without her power, the Keyhole will remain incomplete. It is time she awakened."

Sora now knew, without a doubt, what problems had exactly plagued his two best friends. This man seduced Riku into allying with the Heartless, destroyed their island, and now possessed Riku. "Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him back his heart!" ' _I'll forgive him for everything he's done. Abandoning our homeworld, taking Kairi's body, leading the heartless to several worlds, kidnapping princesses, kidnapping Pinocchio, summoning that heartless copy of me, stealing my keyblade, taking Donald and Goofy from me, and even kidnapping May! I'll forgive him for all of it.'_

"But first, you must give the princess back her heart!"

He lifted his keyblade, and a brief burst of pink light shot from Sora's chest before he collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest in pain.

"Sora!" Donald and May yelled at same time.

"Wha-"

"Don't you see yet?" Possessed Riku taunted as he jumped to the ground.. "The princess's heart is responding. It has been there all along. Kairi's heart rests within you!"

Sora struggled to breathe. "Kairi...Kairi's inside me?"

"I know all there is to know," the possessed Riku replied.

His voice became raspy. "Tell me. Who are you?"

"It is I, Ansem, the seeker of darkness," the figure introduced. He then began to walk towards a weakened Sora.

Donald ran at him first with a war cry and wand in hand. He didn't even get to land a scratch before Ansem knocked him out of the field, with no way to get back in, with one flick of his hand.

May was next, and she held her keyblade to his face menacingly. Riku did not hesitate as he knocked her keyblade away and yanked her close to his face by the tug of her shirt.

"I was going to use your heart in place of hers, princess, but know that I have no use for you now." He threw her out the field with profound strength, and May was helpless to aid Sora as there was an invisible wall between them now.

"No! Let me in! Sora!" She banged on the force field to no luck.

' _May's a princess too? But that doesn't make sense, yet neither does Kairi being a princess,'_ Sora weakly thought as Riku-Ansem approached him. In his weak state, he was helpless to his whims. The possessed form proudly stood in front of them.

"So,I shall release you now, Princess. Complete the Keyhole with your power. Open the door, lead me to everlasting darkness!"

Everything seemed to fall into slow motion. Riku-Ansem raised his keyblade high in the air with a gleeful look on his face. He swung it down to an unsuspecting Sora….

 _'Sora!'_ Kairi called from within him.

Sora blocked the attack with keyblade, feeling a new strength. He rose, pushing Riku-Ansem back. "Forget it! There's no way you're getting Kairi's heart!"

He jumped out of the way as Riku-Ansem tried to jam his keyblade into his chest again. He darted over to the other side of the room. He knew that his opponent was right on his heels, so he quickly turned and deflected another blow.

The two of them took swipes at one another as they fought across the field. They each landed brutal blows over each other's bodies but neither was willing to bend. For a moment, both Sora and Riku were reminded of the playful sparring they did as children. Sora can feel the darkness radiating from his possessed friend, but Kairi's heart within him was strongly rejecting him. Sora hit him in the face, causing the other boy to stumble back. Sora landed another hit on his arm and struck at both his legs, causing him to fall to the ground.

Riku-Ansem bounced back up as if he wasn't hit at all and smirked at him. He flipped back before Sora could try to hit him again.

Riku spun towards him while swinging his keyblade, causing Sora to roll away from him. He leaped high in the air and landed roughly on the ground, causing a shockwave. Luckily, Sora jumped up in time.

"You fight well," the possessed figure complimented as he stalked across the field. "For a boy who was never meant to wield a keyblade."

Sora narrowed his eyes into thin slits. "You fight poorly, for someone who's supposed to know everything."

The Ansem in Riku chuckled. "Such a childish response." The brunette's temper flared. "I'll show you childish!"

He charged forward and unleashed a barrage of blows all over his opponent's body before the later could react.

"Thundara!" He called in an attempt to finish the later off. But his opponent just absorbed the attack and glowed in darkness.

"What?" Sora exclaimed.

"Funny thing is, after we've gained more power, your magic became useless," said both Riku and Ansem at the same time as they charged up a new, dark version of the Fire spell. The flames were black in color except for the ball of dark purple light.

Sora ducked as the ball was thrown at him, though he certainly felt the burning heat on his hair. However, he wasn't as lucky with Riku-Ansem's next attack. They threw their keyblade at him, and it hit him right in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. They sneered as their keyblade landed right back into their hand before throwing right back towards Sora's direction. This time, he was much better at deflecting, and promptly sent it right into their face. They were stunned for a moment, and if weren't for the direness of the situation, he would have laughed.

They took a moment to wipe the blood that was flowing from their mouth then glared at Sora with a look that could pierce stone.

"We will have your princess's heart, if not, then we'll use your friend's."

' _You will not have Kairi's heart, and I'll destroy you before I let you touch May again.'_ Fury burned within him at the mere suggestion. He already failed May once, he wouldn't do it again. Even though a part of him wished that she was in the field with him, he was glad she was safe.

"Which one will you choose? We'll only allow you to have one," they mocked as they charged towards him again. They slammed into him and knocked him to the ground.

"Wind!" He yelled, as Aerora pushed them back. So it had other uses then lessening damage. With one swing of his keyblade, he knocked Riku-Ansem to the other side of the room.

"Impressive, though your skill with a keyblade is clumsy and poor," they said.

"Shut-"

Sora stopped where he stood as a purple aura surrounded Riku-Ansem. They looked at him with an unsettling smile.

"Behold the power of darkness," they chanted before they unleashed their most powerful attack.

Sora didn't get to register what was happening before a purple entity slashed his body from all directions. They slashed his arms, his legs, his hands, his stomach, and then his neck, just barely missing his jugular.

He was then lit up by a dark pillar of energy. His mind had flashed white for a brief moment and he collapsed to the ground with blood forming a pool from around him.

May watched the scene in silent horror. That possessed monster was going to kill Sora and get Kairi's heart. His own best friend, who Sora spoke of fondly before he found out what he had become, was going to kill him. She screamed as she banged on the force field. _'LET ME IN. I HAVE TO SAVE SORA! I HAVE TO-'_

The Ansem in his body was gloating. He had won with one dark and powerful move. One strike in the heart, and his task was complete. All he had to do was get Riku to comply.

But Riku suddenly found himself not wanting to.

The boy on the floor was someone he knew since the cradle. The boy on the floor was someone whose upbeat nature had always made his day better in someway. The boy on the floor was someone who saw him as an average teenage boy where everyone else saw him as this cool and mysterious friend. The boy on the floor was someone who understood him more than he understood even himself.

The boy on the floor was Sora.

He could not find himself to go through with purging Kairi's heart. Ansem inside was screaming at him to do it, to get it over with it. _'I can't. I can't. I can't.'_

 _'What are you waiting for, boy? Get it over with, the Keyhole can not open without Kairi's heart!'_

 _'I can't…'_ He thought of bright red, blue violet eyes, and pink lips always turned up into a smile. This would save her, right? But… _'I can't do this to her.'_

He lowered his keyblade despite Ansem fighting to take control of his body. He no longer found the will to hurt his two best friends.

 _'Save him, Sora!'_ Kairi urged from within him.

 _'But how?'_ Sora thought weakly. _'Get Ansem out of his body!'_ Was the response.

He looked over at Riku. He seemed to be in a frozen state.

Cautiously, he walked over to his friend. Riku looked up at him, and the two of them locked eyes. What he was about to do made him sick inside. But this was the only way to save Riku.

"I'm sorry," Sora said before plunging his keyblade into Riku's chest before the latter could respond. He pulled it out as fast as he put it in and stepped far back. Riku opened his mouth open in shock, looking at the hole in his chest. He felt Ansem's presence leave him, to the latter's protest.

Purple sparks spread all over Riku's body as he began to vibrate. His keyblade dropped to the ground, along with his body. He disappeared in purple light as Sora ran to him again. "Riku!"

The force field blocking the rest of the party from aiding Sora disappeared as well, and they all ran to him as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Babyface!" May exclaimed happily as she wrapped her arms around Sora. She hadn't even noticed what she had done as she hugged him tightly. Sora's skin turned red as a tomato. "May, please!"

"Sora! Sora, look!" Donald yelled, getting the brunette's attention.

"The...The Keyhole!" Goofy added, pointing at the portal.

Sora gently pushed May aside and walked up to it in an attempt to seal the Keyhole. Nothing happened.

"It won't work! The Keyhole's not finished yet!" Goofy pointed out. Sora frowned. "What are we gonna do?"

"Maybe we gotta go wake Kairi up," the court knight replied.

"I think you're right. If we can free her heart...but...but how?"

His eyes landed on Riku-Ansem's keyblade. An idea popped in his head.

"A keyblade that can unlock people's hearts...I wonder."

It was then that Sora realized what he had to.

"Sora?" Goofy asked in confusion as Sora walked down towards Kairi.

The walk to the keyblade and her body seemed to be in slow motion. He heard himself tell Sarina to hold May as the latter was not going to like what he was about to do and would try to stop him. It would devastate her, it would devastate everyone. Inside, his heart was pumping rapidly in fear. This is not how he wanted to save Kairi but her had to.

"What are you doing?" He heard May say in confusion. It took all in him not to gulp. ' _For Kairi…'_

When he picked up the keyblade, several voices cried out in protest.

"Sora, hold on!"

"No, wait!"

"Think about what you're doing!"

"Sora, please prove me wrong and not do what I think you're about to do! ANSWER ME!"

That last one hit a nerve. May called him by his actual name again. ' _My friends are my power. My friends are my power. My friends are my power.'_

Trembling inside, he turned and smiled goofily at his friends one last time. May opened her mouth to speak. "Sor-"

He plunged the keyblade into his own chest.

The pain was instantaneous, and he wanted to scream so badly. It was so agonizing he wanted to pull it out immediately, but he knew he could not. His mind blurred, along with his vision. Memories of his fourteen years of life appeared in brief flashes.

The keyblade floated away from him and disappeared into black smoke as his body began to glow gold.

"Sora! Sora!" Donald pleaded, running towards him as he began to fall. ' _For you, Kairi.'_

Six hearts appeared and all of them flowed into each of the princesses' bodies. Color came to their faces after being deathly pale for days, weeks, months, even years in the cases of Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora.

The seventh heart slowly, like a feather, went back to its owner.

At first, for a brief second, Kairi felt relief at being able to open her eyes again. But then she saw Sora falling into golden light.

"Sora!" She cried, getting up quickly and running towards him.

She tried to catch him in her arms but he disappeared into the light.

 _'No,'_ she thought in horror as she looked to see tiny flecks of gold float upwards from his body used to be. _'No…'_

"Sora! Come back Sora!" Donald pleaded, despite knowing it was useless. Tears pricked his eyes. Beside him, Goofy cried tears of his own. Neither of them knew what Sora was going to do and if they did, they were not sure if they would have been able to stop him.

May's mouth opened to a wordless scream. She fell down to the ground and just looked down at the floor. She didn't want to believe it. What happened in front of her eyes is just a nightmare. Sora wouldn't do that. He didn't just commit suicide.

She slumped to the floor with a blank look on her face. ' _He's not dead. Definitely not dead. He would never stab himself with a keyblade. That would be moronic. He's playing a trick on us; he'll reappear any second now. Any second now….'_

Sarina kneeled down to her sister, worried at her lack of emotion. She shook her body several times. "May, please.."

May looked up at her with no emotion. "Why are you shaking me, sweetie? Sora's playing a trick on us, don't you see? He'll be right back!" She rose a little, looking up at the ceiling, sitting cross-legged. She was patient because Sora was totally not dead. She started chuckling, because the thought was absurd.

 _'He wouldn't leave us.'_

* * *

' _What's...What happening to me? Falling...Falling into darkness.'_

* * *

Kairi bit her lip to keep the tears from falling. She couldn't cry because Sora couldn't possibly be dead. He wouldn't leave her. He have always been there for her since she washed up on the shores. She opened her mouth in nervousness. "Sora, are you really-No. He can't be! I won't let him go!" Kairi shouted out the last line in determination.

"Yes," May agreed cheerily. She practically skipped over to Kairi. "Sora's a numbskull, but he's definitely not the type to go out like that. You would know more than me, right? I'm-"

"May," Kairi finished for her, "I know who you are, through Sora." _'And I know how close you two are. He really cares about you.'_ Inside Sora's body, she saw their laughs, their fights, and their worrying for each other. She did not know how to feel about that.

May rubbed her head awkwardly. Kairi must have seen or felt everything between her and Sora since her heart was in his body the entire time. It made her feel nervous. What if she liked Sora in the non-platonic way? May knew Sora did. She saw it in his eyes whenever he talked about her. She opened her mouth to respond but Ansem interrupted them.

The man in front of them was drastically different than what was sharing a body with Riku. He had long silver hair with three spikes at the top, amber eyes, and deep bronze skin. He wore two high-collared coats, the first one a long black leather jacket that was red inside and lined with yellow, and a grey section that covered the shoulders and lower back. It was kept up with several pins and buttons and completely unzipped. A belt was attached to the front of his body. The second, shorter jacket was white and mostly unbuttoned, exposing his bare chest. It was only closed up near his waist, and covered by two belts, before flaring out again unbuttoned. There were pauldrons on each of his shoulders, attached by belts, and he wore silver-white gloves with three black buttons on each side, grey bands on his wrists accompanied by bells. He wore black pants and black boots. The Heartless symbol was planted on his chest, though it appeared to be just for decoration.

It was the most ridiculous outfit May had ever seen a bad guy wear, and being a hardcore gamer and comic-book reader, she had seen a lot of pretentious villain outfits.

"So you have awakened at last, Princess. The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose. But now it's over. The both of you are no longer useful," he spoke with a deep voice.

Ansem walked towards them with the full intent of killing the two princesses.

When Donald and Goofy jumped in front of not only Kairi, but her as well, May knew that her relationship with them would never be the same. She was no longer just a girl in their eyes. Sarina stepped in front of her well, and that actually worried May more than anything.

"Don't take another step!" Donald barked, pointing his wand at the man.

"Do you think we can stop him all by ourselves?" Goofy whispered to the latter.

"I don't know," the court wizard replied, "But we can't let him near the princesses!"

Ansem was very unimpressed by the two of them. These two fools were the best King Mickey had to offer?

He moved, but suddenly he was frozen in place by not of his own will. "Impossible…"

Riku appeared before him, glowing. "No, you won't use me for this!" He held his arms in front of Ansem to show this.

"Riku!" Kairi called out in worry.

"You've got to run! The Heartless are coming!"

Shadows popped up around the field, ready to attack the group.

Kairi looked at her best friend in regret before leading the group in running away. "What about the Keyhole?" Goofy yelled as they ran.

"Who cares? Let's bail!" May barked.

"Traitor," Ansem hissed at the boy before they both disappeared along with all the heartless he summoned.

All except one.

This Shadow looked at the group curiously before quietly following them.

* * *

Donald, Goofy, and Sarina made down the steps of the Entrance Hall before they realized Kairi and May weren't following them.

"Girls, hurry! The Heartless will catch up to us!"

"I can't leave them!" Kairi replied, thinking of her two male friends. May shared the same thoughts.

"You guys know I'll never leave Sora behind at this point," May added. _'It's either love or I'm a very stupid girl.'_ She still refused to believe he was truly dead.

"We can't stay here!" Donald scolded them.

"The Heartless is after us!" Goofy pleaded.

May summoned Sunlight in anger. "Well they can stay after us! I'll cut them all down in seconds!"

Nonetheless, the two princesses ran down the steps.

"There's one right there," Sarina said, pointing to the top floor. The Shadow from earlier stood in front of the door.

Donald took out his staff menacingly. "I'll take care of it!"

The Shadow jumped off the floor and in front of the group. It tried to run towards Kairi, but Donald blocked him. Donald whacked it on the head a couple of times, but it strangely didn't fight back.

"Confunded Heartless! Get lost, will ya?" The court wizard snapped. The Heartless stared at Kairi and May, and something clicked in the two girls' heads.

"That Heartless is rather nonaggressive, don't you think?" May said to Kairi. The way the creature just stared at them instead of trying to rip their hearts out made her suspicious.

Kairi met its eyes with hope in her eyes. "Sora? Is that you?"

Heartless popped up around the area before the Shadow could respond.

"Go away!" May yelled as she took a stance.

Kairi looked back at the Heartless in determination. "This time, I'll protect you."

When the other Heartless moved to attack them, Kairi kneeled and pulled the Shadow into her arms. Heartless swarmed the pair, scaring Kairi but not causing her to release the creature.

"Kairi!" Goofy called out in worry.

Suddenly, every Shadow disappeared in a bright light. In an instant Kairi found herself being held in someone's arms, a boy's arms.

Sora held her tightly to his chest. "Kairi, thank you."

"Sora," Kairi whispered in relief as she finally opened her eyes. They stood like that for a couple of moments before May suddenly coughed. As Sora released Kairi from his arms, May walked towards him.

Standing in front of him made her nervous. May didn't know whether to slap or kiss him. In an average movie, she would have slapped AND kissed him, but of course she could not find the strength to do that.

"Hey May," Sora greeted sweetly. "You glad I'm back?"

She wanted to kiss him so bad.

"Yeah, I guess so kid," was her awkward response. _'You are such a coward, May.'_

Sora smirked at her, an action that made her skin flush. "You know you missed me for that short time while I was gone."

May's mouth went dry at his response. _'Is he flirting with me?'_

More Heartless appeared, though Beast had ran into the room as well. He unleashed a mighty roar, which actually managed to stun all the Heartless in the room.

He jumped down to the second floor. "Go, now!"

"Come with us!" Sora pleaded, not wanting to leave his newest friend behind.

"I told you before, I'm not leaving without Belle," Beast told him, "Now go! The Heartless are coming!"

 _'He can definitely handle himself. Those Shadows ain't gonna last long,'_ May thought.

Sora frowned at Beast's request but heeded his wish. "All right. Let's get out of here!"

* * *

Kairi surveyed the ship, running her fingers over the walls. It was the first time she was physically on it. It was the first time she was physically touching anything in weeks.

"What's it like being in somebody's body?" May asked her.

"Weird, but I felt safe," Kairi responded as she turned to look at her. What was stranger was that she actually felt other presences in his body. One was full of light, the other full of darkness. She did not know what to make of it so she did not tell Sora.

"He was keeping you safe, like a true knight," May said, smiling softly. Kairi giggled.

"Sora, a knight? He's like a country bumpkin at home!"

May snickered. "Yeah Babyface got benched from the pilot seat because he crashed into Traverse Town. Donald still hasn't forgiven him!"

Kairi smirked at the fact. "He can't even ride a bike! How did he expect to pilot a ship!"

The two girls laughed, causing Sora to glance at them sharply, wondering what was so funny.

"But in all honesty, Sora really does care about you and others. He tore through all these worlds for you, and helped out all these people with their problems. He's a great kid," May said, sobering first.

Kairi tilted her head. "He cares about you, too. I felt it."

"Oh really?" May asked. "I dunno, I mean, he talks about you a lot. You're his world."

Kairi blushed. "Really?" She didn't know how she felt about the possibility of Sora liking her back. To be honest, she always did feel closer to Sora a teensy bit more than Riku…

"So, I've heard from Kiddo, that you're a bit of a tomboy. Tell me about yourself," May said, eager to talk to another girl that was not her sister.

"Well…"

In an instant, the two girls had become friends.

* * *

"So the darkness is flowing out of the Keyhole," Leon said as they all stood in the hotel room.

"No wonder there are more and more Heartless everywhere," Aerith spoke from her position on the bed with Yuffie standing beside her. "The only way to stop them from appearing is to-"

"Seal the Keyhole, right?" Sora finished for her, waving his keyblade around.

"Maybe," Leon replied, "But no one knows what will happen once it's sealed."

"Well, we can't just stay here. We have to do something. I got a friend back there," Sora argued.

"And the other princesses are there too! How are they getting home?" May added.

Leon looked down in thought. "That's right. You have one more friend to care about. Riku's Keyblade must have been born from the captive princesses' hearts, just like that Keyhole you saw," he looked over to Kairi, "Of course, without Kairi's heart, it remained incomplete and they planned to use May's. Once it had been destroyed, the princesses' hearts should have been freed. Don't worry Sora, if anyone can save your friend, you can."

 _'If he lets me,'_ Sora thought to himself glumly. _  
_  
"Cid, we need to go back to Hollow Bastion," Sora told the pilot.

Cid looked at him like he had grown six eyes. "I don't think I can let you do that, kids. The Heartless there are multiplying by the minute. They'd eat your ship up. Plus, you have a Princess of Heart on board," he directed at May, making her groan.

"How bad?" May asked, not wanting to believe him.

"Like triggering one thousand beehives at the same time," Cid replied, smiling thinly. May shuddered.

"Than what can we do?" Sora wondered.

"Simple. Go around 'em instead of through. Install a new navigational gummi and take a new route."

"A new gummi? From where?"

"The secret waterway. When I came here 9 years ago, I stored it there in case I ever needed it. Never knew a couple of kids would be the ones to use it!"

* * *

In the Secret Waterway, Sora and Kairi looked at a mural in front of them. It was the image of a bright sun in the sky.

"What a mysterious mural. It's almost hypnotizing," Kairi commented.

Sora was definitely hypnotized as he walked up to the mural.

The sun turned into an image of a crescent moon, and with a golden glow, the navigational piece fell out the mural and into Sora's hands.

Kairi looked at the scene with a memory popping into her mind.

"A light at the end of the tunnel…"

"Oh, your grandma's story, right?" Sora said he remembered the memory he saw.

"That's right. We were together."

"You know what's funny?" Sora asked as he stepped up closer to her. "I looked everywhere for you, but you were with me all along. Finally, we're together Kairi. Now, it's time to get Riku back."

"You think it'll ever be the same between us?" Kairi said, thinking of the elephant in the room.

"Riku lost his…"

"When I turned into a Heartless, you saved me, remember? I was lost in the darkness. I couldn't find my way. As I stumbled through the dark, I started forgetting things-my friends, who I was. The darkness almost swallowed me. But then I heard a voice, your voice. You brought me back," Sora told her.

"I didn't want to just forget about you, Sora. I couldn't," Kairi replied, thinking about their relationship. She loved both her friends, that was for sure, but lately with Sora she couldn't tell if she loved him or was in love with him. Even as a little girl, she did not want to think of him as brother.

"That's it!" Sora realized. He held his hand over his heart. "Our hearts are connected. And the lights from our hearts broke through the darkness. I saw that light. I think that is what saved me," he said as he walked away. "No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within. I guess it's more than just a fairy tale."

"Then let's go," Kairi said in determination.

Sora shook his head at her. "You can't go."

She looked at him, confused. "Why not?"

"Because it's way too dangerous," he told her firmly.

"Come on, Sora. We made it this far by sticking together. You can't go alone."

"Kairi, even if we're apart, we're no longer alone anymore. Right?"

She frowned at him. Just because she was a princess doesn't mean she was useless! "I can't help?"

"You'd be kinda in my way," he admitted, making her huff. But she reluctantly accepted his excuse.

"Fine, you win. Take this."

Kairi suddenly took his hand and placed a charm in his hand. It was in the shape of a Paopu Fruit, colored yellow and peach.

"It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me," she told him in a warning tone.

He smiled brightly. "Don't worry. I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'll always be with you."

* * *

Riku was a dark abyss with only a dark road ahead of him. "Sora...Kairi...I'm sorry. Is this the afterworld?" If so, he truly deserved it.

He was in full regret of what he had done. His body flowed in and out of consciousness, in an attempt to bring him to an even higher plane of existence..

"I'm not ready. Not yet. Not until I see Sora and Kairi one last time."

"Riku, can you hear me? I'll be there soon," a voice spoke in the air. It was cheery and oddly squeaky. Riku tensed up.

"Who is that?" He demanded to the air.

"I have the other Keyblade. The one that belongs to this world. I've been trying to get through to you, but the darkness in your heart kept me away," the voice responded.

"Who are you? What happened to my body?" He asked, baffled.

"Your heart won the battle against darkness, but it was too late for your body. That's why you're here in this place of darkness where darkness is gathered."

"So what do I do?"

"The Door to Darkness will open soon, but it's a door we can't enter. It has to closed from both sides. To do this, you need two keys and two hearts. Maybe you're here for the same reason I'm here. Maybe it was fate."

Riku smiled thinly. "Fate, huh? You seem to know everything, don't you? Then tell me, are Sora and Kairi okay?"

"Don't you feel the echoes of their hearts? You already know the answer. Look inside your own heart."

Riku closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them back up, and he smiled a true, genuine smile.

"Okay."

* * *

 _Ansem Report #2_

 _It is my duty to expose what this darkness really is. I shall conduct the following experiments:_

 _Extract the darkness from a person's heart._

 _Cultivate darkness in a pure heart._

 _Both suppress and amplify the darkness within._

 _The experiments caused the test subject's heart to collapse, including those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatment produced no signs of recovery. I confined those who had completely lost their hearts beneath the castle._

 _Some time later, I went below and was greeted by the strangest sight. Creatures that seemed born of darkness...What are they? Are they truly sentient beings? Could they be the shadows of those who lost their hearts in my experiments?_

 _Ansem Report #4_

 _The Heartless appear in groups, and are multiplying rapidly. I've provided them both living and nonliving samples. They've responded only to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing something from the living creatures. Their prey vanishes without a trace._

 _I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others. The hearts taken by the Heartless become Heartless themselves._

 _Though I lack proof, I am confident in this hypothesis. I must also study their behavioral principles. Though they lack emotions, they do seem to have some intelligence. How to communicate with them?_

 _It's just occurred to me: Could they be the darkness in people's hearts?_

 _Ansem Report #5_

 _To study the Heartless behavior, I picked one out for observation. It wiggled its antennae and, as if sensing a target, headed deep into the castle. In the deepest part of the castle, its antennae began vibrating, as if searching for something. Suddenly, a strange door appeared. I'd never known of its existence._

 _It had a large keyhole, but didn't seem to be locked. So I opened the door. What I saw on the other side mystified me. What was that powerful mass of energy? That night I observed a great meteor shower in the sky. Could it be related to the door that I have opened?_

 _Ansem #6_

 _A massive core of energy lay beyond the door sought by the Heartless. It may be the ultimate goal of the Heartless. But what is that energy? I have devised a hypothesis, based upon my observations of the Heartless._

 _The Heartless feed on other's hearts, and they yearn for that energy core. That thing beyond the door must be a heart, too-the heart of this world. There is no proof, but, having felt that immense energy, I am certain. That was the heart of the world._

 _The Heartless are trying to take hearts not only from all living creatures, but from the planet itself. But what do they mean to do with the heart of the world?_

* * *

A/N: So as y'all probably guessed again, in my headcanon, every world has a Princess of Heart. However to not screw with canon completely, only seven princesses are needed to open the Door To Darkness. And my take is that Princesses of Heart can feel negative emotions such as jealously, wrath, and anger, but what makes them pure is that they can not

Admittedly, the twin's power boost could have been written a bit better. What basically happened is May awakened her ultimate element during her coma, which is the Sun, and Sarina's is the Moon. As a Princess of Heart, she has her own power, and due to the fact that Sarina shared a womb with her, she gets a little bit of that power. Sarina still has a teensy bit of darkness inside of her which will be explored in later sequels. Don't worry, they're not going to overshadow Sora. Here's a hint towards the future: The twins won't be the only ones to have a celestial theme in their family :).


	13. Disappeared

Disclaimer: The only thing I own here is my OCs. Everything else belongs to the company with the mouse ears and the company that takes too long to release sequels to their games.

A/N: This chapter will be a shortie compared to the last one. As Hollow Bastion was the climax of the story, now we're at the falling action until the end.

* * *

May didn't want to go back to Hollow Bastion. She didn't want to be anywhere _near_ that place. She still felt a hand wrap around her heart, squeezing it till her world became black as night. The princesses needed to be rescued out of that prison though, and Sora would not rest until he had both Kairi AND Riku. Sora's devotion to his friends was amazing, even if she believed it was slightly unfounded when it came to Riku. After all, he tried to _murder_ Sora multiple times, and that alone put him on her shitlist. However, she could see that he was doing it out of some misguided love for Kairi and that Maleficent was playing him like a fiddle. He wasn't _truly_ evil...just a troubled boy with issues.

"You think Riku's alright, May? Wherever he is?" Sora asked from next to her.

"Hopefully," she simply replied, not looking at him. She nearly jumped when Sora touched her shoulder in comfort. He quickly blushed and walked away.

' _This is nice. How awkward,'_ May thought to herself, annoyed.

* * *

Seeing the creepy castle again made her shiver, and she stepped off the ship slower than anyone else. Immediately, Donald and Goofy flanked her like she was an actual born princess, and she resisted the urge to growl. She did not want any of her friends treating her any different, especially Sora. _Especially Sora._

The group spotted Beast, who was simply staring up at the Castle.

"Where's Belle?" Sora asked him.

"Still in the castle," Beast replied gruffly.

"Against her will?" Goofy asked in worry. Beast shook his head. "No I think she stayed here for a reason. The other princesses are here as well."

"I can feel them," May replied. The fact that she was in the same category as Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora was still weird to her. A princess? To be honest, it was actually funny in a way.

"Let's talk to them," she said to the rest of the party, with them nodding.

"You may need my strength again. I'll go with you," Beast told them, and May grinned. She latched onto his arm.

"Boy, don't we need you? You've been a great ally, Buddy."

* * *

Beast led them to a large library in the castle. The twins looked around in amazement.

"All these books...I wonder how old some of them are?" May wondered aloud.

"Are some of them centuries old? Is Shakespeare in here, or old religious text?" Sarina asked in excitement. "Perhaps, the Iliad or the Odyssey? Or-"

"We have to seal this keyhole first, sis," May remarked with a smirk, amused by the fact that the one thing that would turn Sarina into a fangirl was a book. From the time they were little, if you wanted to find Sarina, she was either drawing or nose deep into some thousand page novel.

At the top of the steps stood a familiar young woman in a yellow ballroom gown. "Belle!" Beast yelled out.

Beast ran up the steps to greet her, and Belle embraced him in her arms.

Pulling away from him, Belle looked at the group. "You've come to seal the Keyhole, right? Please, be careful. The darkness is raging deep inside. We've been holding it back, but we can't hold out much longer."

"Thanks, we'll be careful," Sora replied.

"Where are the other princesses?" May asked, worried about their safety.

"They are in the Chapel, they should be safe," Belle replied. She could still feel their lively presence...for now.

"I will stay with Belle," Beast insisted without leaving any room for argument. Now that he was finally reunited with Belle, there was no way he was going to leave her alone ever again.

He had grown to care for her deeply over the time she spent in his castle. He used to think of her as a nuisance who foolishly sacrificed her freedom for her bumbling oaf of a father, who was going to get what he deserved for sneaking in his castle.

But Belle...was special. Other than being the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life, there was something about her that was different. She used to be afraid of him like everyone else, but now she looked at him as if he was normal. She had stopped crying and buried her nose in books, and the tenants of the castle adored her, hailed her as the one who will break the curse in the castles.

As for what he thought...he was falling in love in her. But could a beauty like her ever love a beast?

* * *

"Please hurry! Darkness is pouring from the keyhole!" Jasmine urged in the Chapel while Snow White and Alice stood next to her.

"It's all we can do just to hold back the darkness!" Alice added. They've been using their powers to hold back the darkness for hours and it was beginning to be a strain on both their physical and mental health.

"I don't think we can hold on for even that long," Snow White said without her normally cheery voice.

"You can count on us! We'll fix this!" May stated confidently.

"Then we will do what we can too," the ebony haired princess replied while nodding.

"We've been waiting for you," Cinderella said as she came over with Aurora behind her.

"Where's Ansem?" Sora asked, looking to get rid of the true threat to all the worlds.

"Gone," she replied.

"When the Keyhole appeared, darkness poured out of it. It swallowed Ansem and he disappeared," Aurora explained.

"Though Ansem is gone, the flood of darkness hasn't stopped. We're working together to hold it back," the other princess added.

"I cannot forget the look on his face. As the darkness enveloped him, he was smiling," Aurora said, shivering at just the memory before. She thought she had seen pure evil when she saw the smirk on Maleficent's face when she brought the Heartless to Enchanted Dominion to kidnap her.

However in the end, Maleficent was nothing compared to Ansem. It seemed as if he was made of pure darkness.

* * *

More dalmations ran out of the chest when May opened it. When they entered the Grand Hall, May heard something shake and immediately knew what it was.

"I'll be glad when all these puppies are released," she grumbled to herself. What were they up too? 97 at this point?

"The Keyhole is in there!" Sora pointed out to the large heart in the center of the room. It seemed to be some kind of portal. He immediately rushed forward into the portal just as more heartless were coming out of it.

"Sora!" Donald called out, running in after him along the rest of the party sans May.

May shook her head at the scene. She had bad feeling about this. There was no way sealing the keyhole would be that easy when heartless were jumping right out the portal then and there.

She rolled away from a Soldier and was the last one to enter the portal.

* * *

In a red, blue, and green field lied the Keyhole to Hollow Bastion. It was right across from the group, and it would take 10 seconds tops to reach it. It would be an easy feat…

...If there wasn't a giant, quadrupled heartless with huge tusks guarding the Keyhole.

Its body was cyan in color except for its back, legs, and upper head which was a navy blue. Its large feet were dark grey and its toes were red along with the horn on top of its head. The tips of the husks were ice-blue. Like most other heartless, it had yellow eyes and a jagged jaw.

The heartless roared, shaking the whole field.

"Knew it wasn't going to be that easy it! Damn it! This is probably Ansem's doing!" May growled as the large, _Behemoth-_ thing leaped considerably high into the air for its height. It slammed back down into Donald and Goofy, knocking them out instantly.

As Sarina cured Donald and Goofy, and Sora was doing barely any damage to the giant creature, May tried to observe the Behemoth. _It's body is made of steel because why not? If I wanted a big scary Heartless to guide a keyhole, I would want it to be hardy too. But all Heartless have weak points, even the strong ones._ The Defenders and Large Bodies could be damaged by getting struck in the back, and several others would turn into putty by being hit in the head. _Cerberus' weak spot was its head...Sarina was able to defeat him easily by using Thunder on his skull._

May snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed the Behemoth was charging a orange ball between its horns. When it shot up into the air, a plethora of energy balls came raining down from the sky, hitting the ground and hitting several party members rapidly.

May shrieked and jumped in pain as one hit her. It burned! She barely rolled away from another one. Sarina casted Blizzara on it, only for it to not respond at all.

' _Ugly Behemoth thingy has to die, NOW."_

She ran behind the creature when it was sitting, climbed on its back, grabbed its horn, and pulled roughly. The Behemoth rose immediately and ran wildly around the field in the hopes of throwing her off.

"The horn! Aim for the horn!" She screamed at the other party members.

"That's its weak spot?" Sora asked, before hurling his keyblade at its horn. It hit, and the heartless collapsed on the floor. May fell to the ground as well, but quickly recovered enough to start hitting on its horn. "Hurry, kill it before it gets back up!"

The entire party was soon collectively attacking its horn relentlessly until it gave up and disappeared, its heart floating up in the air.

"That's it? That's all it took?" Sora asked incredulously. It honestly felt underwhelming.

"Well, at least it didn't take long. Let's seal this Keyhole and leave," May said.

"You guys did it," a familiar voice came from the other side of the portal.

"Leon?" Sora asked in confusion.

* * *

Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie were in the Grand Hall when the party walked out.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sora asked as he walked up to them.

"We came in Cid's ship," Yuffie replied as she sat on a railing, casually swinging her legs about.

"This is our childhood home," Aerith added, "We wanted to see it again."

"You guys lived here? In this desolate castle?" May asked in shock. The castle alone was creepy, but outside the castle was a wasteland. The only attractive scenery were the rising waterfalls.

"It's in worse shape than I feared. It used to be so peaceful…" Leon confirmed.

' _Then came Maleficent I bet. No wonder they feared her, and no wonder they escape to Traverse Town,'_ May wondered. She wondered what it looked before Maleficent came.

"Don't worry. If we defeat Ansem, all should be restored. Including your island," Aerith said reassuringly, directing the last part to Sora.

"And our home," May asked, earning a nod from the brunette. She smiled. "What a relief."

"But it means goodbye," Yuffie replied.

"How come?" Sarina spoke up.

"Once the worlds are restored, they'll all be separated again," Aerith explained.

"Everyone will go back to where they came from," Yuffie added on.

"Well it can't be that bad. There has to be way that we can all see each other," May said with a hopeful tone.

"Yeah, we can just visit each other with the gummi ship," Sora said.

"I'm sure you and May will definitely find a way to see each other," Donald mumbled, only for Sora and May to hear it. Sora blushed while May pretended to have not heard it.

"It's not that simple," Leon said dejectedly as he shook his head.

"Before this, you guys didn't know about the other worlds, right?" Yuffie asked the three teens rhetorically.

"Because every world was isolated. Impassable walls divided them," Aerith explained again.

"The Heartless destroyed those worlds. But if the worlds return, so will the walls," the other girl explained further.

"Which means gummi ships will be useless," Leon added. Sora's mouth dropped while Sarina's eyes widened in horror at the implications. May's face turned to stone.

"So you're saying we'll never see each other again?" Sora asked fearfully, looking back at the twins, and then back to Donald and Goofy at the Keyhole. All the friends he made, who he may not ever see again.

Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie all lowered their heads in sorrow.

"We may never see each other again, but we'll never forget each other," Leon commented.

"No matter where we are, our hearts will bring us together again," Aerith said with a smile.

May held back a sharp remark. That she didn't want to be parted from them, from Donald and Goofy, from Kairi, and most of all, _Sora_. That without gummi ships, they will definitely not see each other ever again, forget the hearts nonsense. That Sarina will go back to having no friends, and she lose the first friend she ever had that was a girl. That she will spend the rest of her life knowing that there were other worlds, but that she can never travel to any of them ever again. She didn't voice any of that and she was biting her tongue so hard she could feel the iron of blood filling her mouth. ' _Princesses hold back rude remarks.'_

"Besides, I couldn't forget you even if I wanted to," Yuffie teased to Sora, knowing he was so easy to rile up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora barked angrily. She held back a smirk.

"Kids! Hurry! Come up and close the Keyhole!" Goofy yelled out.

"Right, come on guys," Sora said as he run up to the portal. The twins followed.

* * *

Hollow Bastion's Keyhole was the largest and most brightest of them all, glowing in all shades of pink.

Sora sealed it without hesitation, eager to leave Hollow Bastion as fast as possible.

He looked over to May, whose face was still hard, with no emotion etched on her face. It worried him. Was it because of what Leon said? That they may never see each other again?

Could he even imagine that scenario?

* * *

"Thank you, Sora. I think the darkness had begun to weaken," Alice said cheerfully. However Snow White was not as cheerful.

"But I can feel a powerful darkness growing somewhere far away," the ebony haired princess added, discomfort in her voice.

"I can feel it too. Like it's gnawing in my head," May agreed. ' _Ansem.'_

"It's the heart of the darkness. It must be where Ansem went," Aurora commented.

"Then we'll take the gummi ship and deal with both Ansem and the Heartless," Sora responded, putting his fist into his other hand in determination.

"Well said, Keyblade master,' Cinderella said with a pleased smile. "We offer this power to aid all three of you in battle. May, will you join us dear?"

May nodded and Cinderella took her hand as the other princesses joined hands. A white glow came from their bodies before the three teens' keyblades glowed white as well.

"Your ability to cast Fire has been raised to its highest potential," Cinderella said as the glow dissipated.

"Firaga," Donald realized. "You kids can cast Firaga now!"

"Great! Thanks guys!" Sora said, before yelping in pain due to Donald stepping on his foot. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You address them as _Your Majesties_ or _Your Highnesses_." The court wizard hissed. Sora scowled at him in response.

"It's alright," Snow White reassured, "Your courage can bring back our worlds."

"Once the darkness is gone, all should return to its original state," Aurora added.

"Kairi will be back on the island?" Sora asked in hope.

"Most certainly, and you should be too," Cinderella answered. Sora shook his head.

"I can't go home 'till I find Riku and the King."

A purple portal shrouded in darkness at the entrance of the area Dragon Maleficent was fought.

"Where did that come from?" May wondered aloud. Sora stared at the portal curiously before walking towards it. He had a bad feeling about this...but he was drawn to it for some reason.

"Um, Babyface, where are you going without us?" May demanded with a raised eyebrow. She took a few steps but Sora raised his hand to stop her.

"No, you guys don't need to come. I got this," Sora said without even looking back. He entered the portal.

* * *

At first, the secret area of the chapel was quiet. ' _Did I imagine it?'_ Sora thought to himself.

"You are incomplete," a monotone voice said, and Sora jumped as a cloaked figure suddenly behind him. He searched for a face underneath the cloak, but there was nothing, a void of darkness.

Before Sora could respond, the figure walked through him, and Sora oddly felt nothing. A splash of everything he had ever said and what people said to him flashed before his eyes. Sora stumbled to the ground and looked at the figure in confusion.

"Who are you?" Sora asked.

"Ah, it seems you are special, too," the cloaked figure said without answering his question.

"Are you Ansem?" Sora interrogated, summoning his keyblade.

"That name rings familiar," the unknown figure simply replied, and his gloved hands began to glow, "You remind me of _him_."

Thinking he was referring to Ansem, Sora stood up in anger. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The unknown said nothing as he suddenly shot an electrifying beam towards Sora. Sora blocked the blow with his keyblade immediately, and gritted his teeth as he fought off the beam. The beam bounced off of him and hit an area of the chapel, destroying it.

"It means you are not whole. You are _incomplete_. Allow me to test your strength…"

The unknown figure summoned two red beams in his hands, and a battle began.

Sora was bombarded with a slurry of attacks immediately. He narrowly dodged each one and casted Firaga. The figure simply moved away from it and shot an energy ball at him. Sora flinched in pain, only to have to block a barrage of force-fields.

Sora charged towards the figure with his keyblade, only to suddenly block another energy ball. ' _He's blocking everything I have!'_ Sora tried to unleash a combo, only to get pushed back by a force-field. The unknown treated this battle as if it was child's play. Sora was the toy as the unknown simply blocked or dodged everything Sora threw at him.

"Impressive, but you are not ready. When you are, this will be enjoyable. Until we meet again," the figure said in a pleased tone. The figure disappeared in darkness while Sora stood there, numb.

' _Whoever he was, he won't be so lucky next time!'_

Little did Sora know, this was only the beginning of what's to come with this unknown figure.

* * *

Sora couldn't take it anymore.

He looked at May, who was still emotionless and quiet. He didn't like it. It didn't fit May.

Determined to get at least some emotion out of her, he took on a goofy grin.

He rose from his seat on the gummi ship, he walked over and slid in next to May, who had Sarina resting her head on her lap.

"Hey May, you know something?"

"What?" May asked him with a weary look on her face. His grin grew.

"This whole time, I've been wanting to stick a nickname on you since you gave me that awful one. But I couldn't think of any. But with everything that went down at Hollow Bastion, I found the perfect name."

May's face turned sour. "It better not be what I think-"

"So, _Princess,_ did you know that Maleficent came from Aurora's world?"

"Sora _._ "

"Answer the question, _Princess_. Are you going to wear pretty dresses and pearls like a real princess? "

"Sora!"

"The name sorta fits you, don't you think _Princess_?"

"SORA!"

Sarina stirred awake at May's shout for about three seconds, before going back to sleep. Donald and Goofy ignored them, long used to their antics by now.

The damage was done, Sora had found the perfect nickname for her, judging by her reaction.

May scowled at him before rolling her eyes and looking ahead. "Doofus," she said, trying hard not to smile.

Leon said that with the walls going back up if Ansem was defeated, that gummi ships would be useless.

Well, she'll found a way to get around those walls. She discovered that there were worlds amounting to ever star she saw. The discovery would be an outstanding breakthrough for scientists everywhere. She would have to see more.

Because after what she saw, and who she met, there was no way her life will go back to being mundane. She made _friends_ , and met people she only thought existed in fiction. Maybe Aerith was right, their hearts will bring them together again.

 _She'll find a way._

* * *

 ** _Ansem Report #10_**

 _Just as people have hearts, so do worlds. The same can be said of stars in the night sky. And deep within each world lies a door to its heart. The Heartless desire those hearts. Born out of darkness in people's hearts, they seek to return to a greater heart._

 _Yes that's it. The Heartless come from people's hearts, as does the darkness. Is the core of the world's heart the world of the Heartless? I will pursue the answer there and become all knowing._

 _My path is set. I shall seek out the wielder of the Keyblade, and the princesses. My body is too frail for such a journey, but I must do this. I will cast it off and plunge into the depths of darkness._

 ** _Ansem Report #11_**

 _The body is gone; the heart should have returned to the Heartless. And yet, nothing._

 _This one is unlike any other. Its memories remain and it has yet to take the form of a Heartless._

 _A close eye must be kept on the situation. Much is still unknown._

 _To get to the realm of Darkness, one must go through the doors of Kingdom Hearts, the place where the world's hearts connect._

 _Beyond this world is a place in which darkness reigns. (Details shall be archived in a separate report.)_

 _There are many worlds in existence, some of which we know nothing about._

 _The world in which we live. The realm of Darkness. The realm of Light._

 _And the world in between._

 _Wherein lies true nirvana?_

 ** _Ansem Report #13_**

 _Where does the body go when it separates from the heart? If the soul remains within the body, is it still considered to be deceased?_

 _When the heart returns to the Heartless, the physical form disappears. But that is merely true in this world. Perhaps the body exists in another form in another world._

 _If that is the case, then it is possible for one to exist in two worlds._

 _A being that is neither darkness nor light; belonging nowhere; abandoned by its heart; a mere shell of its former self._

 _The relation between the heart and body is complex. However, I am certain that if your self exists here, then by definition, the other cannot truly "exist."_

 _The other, the one which does not exist, shall be dubbed, "Nobody."_


	14. 100 Acre Woods

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Summary: The calm before the storm. Making up for how short the last chapter is, I have decided to upload two chapters in one day! Yay!

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea, May?" Sarina asked as May and Sora looked at the 100 Acre Woods book in Merlin's study. The book finally had all of its pages and thus was ready for travel.

"Yeah, I mean it's _Winnie The Pooh_. There are no big scary villains in it, or at least not any we've seen," May replied. "Besides, I'm more worried about this wave of extremely powerful heartless that's hitting all the worlds because of Hollow Bastion's Keyhole. Moreover, I'd should be asking you the same thing. Can you guys handle the ones at Agrabah and Neverland?"

Sarina looked at Donald and Goofy, who both nodded. "We'll be fine," she reassured her twin,

"I'm sure that if they are available, Aladdin and Peter will be able to help us."

As if she was reminding them that she would be going with them too, Tinkerbell flew over from Sora's shoulder to Sarina's. She was so glad that May wouldn't be going with them to Neverland and sharing any contact with Peter. This was a fine arrangement indeed.

"Then everything's going to be alright. We'll meet back up and take care of...whatever is happening at Hollow Bastion," May said, frowning towards the end at the mention of Hollow Bastion.

"Are you sure nothing's going to go wrong here?" Sora asked. The book looked innocent enough but Wonderland looked like it did too, in a way.

"Unless it involves Pooh losing his honey, then no."

Sora opened the book, and he and May glowed white before disappearing.

* * *

They arrived in a lush meadow. Sora looked around the world and thought it looked slightly childish.

A small yellow bear with a red t-shirt sat on a tree log in the center of the meadow. He seemed to be confused about something. "Think, think, think, think," he said.

"Hi there, what's wrong," Sora asked as he and May walked up to the bear.

"Nothing. Just thinking."

"About what?" May asked.

"I was thinking of how to say to goodbye to Pooh."

"But-never mind," May stopped herself. ' _Wasn't he super forgetful? It's been so long since I looked at Winnie The Pooh.'_

"Pooh?" Sora said in confusion as he took a seat next to him.

"Yes?" Pooh responded to his name as if he had not just forgot it.

"Wait a second, you're Pooh?" Sora asked him in confusion, and May prevented herself from groaning out loud. ' _Please God, tell me this isn't going to be the whole experience here.'_

"Yes, I'm Winnie The Pooh. Pooh for short. Who are you?"

"I'm Sora," the brunette replied.

"And I'm May," May added.

Pooh got up from the tree and smiled at them. "Oh. Hello, Sora and May. Have you come to say goodbye to Pooh too?"

"It's hard to say goodbye to someone we just met," May replied, bemused.

"Because everyone's gone away," Pooh explained and May frowned. ' _Odd.'_

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Well, we all lived here in the Hundred Acre Wood. And we'd take walks together, or play Pooh sticks...and everyday I'd eat some honey. Just one smackeral would taste good right now. But now everyone's gone. All my friends and my favorite Hunny Tree too. Everyone must've gone away while I was napping, I think...So who knows? Maybe I shall end up going away somewhere as well. But I wonder, how do I say goodbye to myself? Think, think, think."

Sora and May shared worried looks with each other. It was obvious to them that they would have to look for Pooh's friends because it sounded odd that they all just disappeared without a word to Pooh.

Pooh stomach started to rumble, and he gently rubbed it. "Oh, my tumbly is getting rather rumbly." And he hopped off the tree, and went off in search of food.

"Can we leave him on his own? He doesn't seem like the type we can leave on his own," Sora asked May.

"Well, I mean, yeah he's wants to say goodbye to himself, but I don't think he's in life threatening danger. Have you seen any Heartless in this area?"

Sora looked around the area, and indeed noticed the lack of Heartless. Was that possible at this point in their journey?"

"That's...weird," he replied.

"Let's help Pooh find his buddies. I'm sure they're all fine and not dead or something," May said, hopping off the tree. Sora nodded and followed her in Pooh's direction. A white light enveloped them, and soon they were on a pathway lined with trees. A house built underneath a tree was at the end of the pathway.

May knew right away that it was Pooh's house as they reached the house and promptly rang the doorbell. "Come in," Pooh's voice rang from the other side.

The duo walked in and found Pooh trying to guzzle down a large pot of honey with both hands...only he couldn't because there wasn't any honey in there in the first place. "Oh bother. There's no more honey left. If only the Hunny Tree would visit...then I could eat my fill," he said in a mournful tone. He then walked out of his home before either of the teens could comment.

"I guess he's really hungry. I didn't know bears liked honey so much," Sora mused.

* * *

Outside, a large owl stood by a log as if he was waiting for them.

"Let me guess: You'd like to know what happens next," he told them. "Unfortunately, some of the pages are missing, so I can't tell you yet. The pages-"

"With all due respect Mr. Owl, we did collect all the pages," May pointed out. The quest to find the pages was almost as important as finding all the puppies.

Owl looked at her with a little shock on his face. "Oh? Then we shall find out if it's true."

' _Is his name really Owl? That's not very original,'_ Sora thought to himself.

* * *

"Hello? Is anyone there?" A tiny pink pig said as he walked out of a tree log. He looked around in hopes of seeing anyone.

"Wh-Wh-What am I to do? I'm all alone. Pooh? Pooh? Where are you? It's me, Piglet," he called for his friend.

Worried, he turned around and gasped as two tall teenagers stared down at him. He scurried off in the other direction before they could even say hi.

"Wow, I guess he never saw humans before," Sora commented.

"Nah, because there's a boy named Christopher Robin who hangs around Pooh and his crew. Piglet is just...timid," May replied. "If we find him, and prove that we are nice people, I'm sure he'll come around."

They searched around a large hunny tree with bushes until they found Piglet hiding behind one of the bushes. The tiny pig gasped and covered his face with his hands.

"Oh dear! I was j-just, n-never mind. I'm sorry!" He jumped around nervously, scared at the idea of the teens being mad at him.

May held up her hand. "Relax Piglet, we're not here to harm you."

Sora kneeled down to Piglet's letter. "You're looking for Pooh, right?"

Piglet let his hands fall from his face. He looked up at Sora and May curiously.

"You know Pooh?" They nodded at his question.

"Oh, well you see...I have something for him. I have to take it to him right away," Piglet explained. Then he turned around and saw Pooh walking towards him. "Oh Pooh!"

Pooh sniffed around the area, not noticing his friend. "Oh, I believe I smell a delicious something. Something like honey!"

"Pooh!" Piglet called again, running up to him.

"Hello, Piglet. How have you been?" Pooh greeted.

"Oh, I-I'm so glad to see you. I thought you have gone away! I brought what you asked for!" Piglet pulled out a large blue balloon. Pooh excitedly took it. With the balloon, he can float up and get what he wanted all day, honey. He always wanted some honey.

Piglet didn't understand that, however. "Really? How?"

"I shall hold onto the balloon, and fly like a bee up the Hunny tree, see," Pooh explained.

"But if you take their honey, won't they be mad?" Piglet asked, already anxious at the thought. Sora and May looked up at the bees, and indeed, they were already buzzing around their honey, daring the small bear to try to take their honey.

Pooh tilted his head in thought. He looked at the teens and smiled. "If you could only chase away the bees for a moment, I'm quite certain I could get a small morsel of honey."

"Why don't you do that, Sora?" May suggested, still looking up at the growing crowd of angry bees.

"Why me?" Sora asked, raising his eyebrow. She did _not_ want to get stung.

"I'm, uh, allergic," May replied with a nervous grin. Sora eyed her suspiciously.

* * *

Later, Pooh rubbed his stomach happily, and licked his lips in satisfaction.

"That was yummy in my tummy, but there's room for a bit more."

"A bit more?" Sora replied, trying to hold in his anger. His whole body was covered in bee stings from protecting Pooh from the beehive, who were _NOT_ happy with having their honey supply gobbled up.

"Are you sure? Aren't you full, Pooh?" May asked. The yellow bear pondered her question. Then his stomach growled again.

"Nope, I can never have enough honey," Pooh replied.

" _Princess_ here knows how to climb trees. She can _surely_ help you grab more," Sora said, sending a vicious smile towards his companion.

May sighed in response.

* * *

The next page Sora, May, Pooh, and Piglet landed in was a small field. In the center of the field was a tree with a cottage built into it. In front of the cottage lay a garden full of various vegetables and pumpkins. A small stream separated the cottage from the rest of the area.

Sora walked across the bridge to knock on the door of the cottage.

"Nobody's home! And I'm out of honey!" A voice shouted from the other side. May knew it was Rabbit, who was strict when it came to Pooh. He was also mostly likely scared too, if he was aware of his world being torn apart.

"Geez, what's his problem?" Sora asked while scratching his head.

"I think there's a back entrance," May suggested, walking around the cottage. Sora followed her until they saw a rabbit hole on the back of the tree. A big wooden read "Rabbit's Howse" on top of the hole.

"That's not how you spell "house", and is he a rabbit with the name Rabbit?" Sora asked, with a raised eyebrow. ' _Owl, Piglet, and Rabbit. Who named these guys?'_ He wondered.

"Look, Rabbit's house c-c-came back!" Piglet pointed out to Sora and May. "But it looks like he isn't home. Pooh been calling and calling, but the house says no one's home." Sora wondered if the characters in this book were stupid.

"Oh he's home alright," May replied. "Try again Pooh."

Pooh peeked his head into the hole. "Nobody's home?"

"That's right! Nobody!" The voice shot back. Sora and May shared a look of annoyance.

"You wanna knock on the door?" Sora asked.

"To hell with knocking. Let's just waltz in," May responded while cracking her knuckles. The two of them walked around to the front of the house while Piglet and Pooh stayed behind.

"Who is this person named nobody? Nobody, have you seen Rabbit?" Pooh asked as he crawled in the rabbit hole.

"No, no Rabbit here! There's no one here!" The voice said again but to no avail, as Pooh fell right inside the rabbit hole.

A tall, yellow colored bunny was inside. He was Rabbit, an earnest and hard worker, but stubborn and strict when it came to his viewpoints. He sighed in defeat, knowing that his honey supply was about to get raided by the little bear.

"Hi Rabbit!" Pooh said cheerfully as Piglet also crawled into the hole.

"Why P-Pooh, what a pleasant surprise…," Rabbit greeted with a faux cheerful voice. "Nice to see you too, Piglet, and…," he turned around to Sora and May, who just walked in the house because Rabbit's front door was unlocked. "Are these new friends?"

"I'm May and he's Sora," May introduced herself while Sora waved.

"I'm sorry Pooh, but I'm all out of honey at the moment," Rabbit lied.

"Then what's that thing up there underneath the ceiling?" May asked while pointing to a jar of honey on top of a tree trunk. Rabbit blanched in response.

"H-Honey? Now how did that get up there?" Rabbit knew there was no point in continuing to lie. "Would you like some, Pooh? Don't feel like you have to, of course."

Pooh rubbed his tummy eagerly. "Thank you, Rabbit. I would like just a small smackerel. I'm quite hungry."

"He said that before he sucked up ten beehive's worth of honey," Sora whispered to May. May just smiled knowingly. Sora reached up, grabbed a big blue jar of honey, and gave it to Pooh. Pooh took the honey quickly and sat at Rabbit's dining table.

The little bear lapped up the honey in the jar with much vigor. It was sweet, thick, and feeling up his tummy just right.

"Um...Pooh. You're not eating the whole pot, are you?" Rabbit asked with a frown.

"How do you feel about getting another supply of honey today," May replied with a grin. Rabbit frowned even deeper.

"Once you start, there's no stopping you, is there?" The anthropomorphic rabbit lamented as Pooh continued to suck up the honey as if it was the last honey supply in the 100 Acre Woods. Rabbit was out of honey again.

When Pooh was done, he set the jar gently on the table and rubbed his now full tummy. He licked his lips in satisfaction. "I'm glad to have found both Rabbit and some honey."

"I think it's time for me and May to go," Sora said as the two teens walked out the house. He was bored, very bored with this world. Maybe if he was four years old, he would have adore the simplistic, but colorful design of the world and the characters.

He and May were about to go to another page before Piglet called out to them.

"H-Help! Please help, Pooh!"

"Is it a heartless?" Sora replied frantically yet he was eager for _some_ excitement in this world. He tried to summon his keyblade, but it did not come. ' _Um, what the hell is wrong with this world?_ He thought before Piglet ran up to him and May.

* * *

Pooh was stuck in the rabbit hole from the waist down, presumably from a bloated stomach. "Oh, help and bother. I'm stuck again," He said, glumly. "I came in through this hole so it must have shrunk."

Sora was about to comment something very rude but May put her hand over his mouth.

"All this because he can't stop liking honey so much," Rabbit said while shaking his head, "If Pooh doesn't slim down, my house will stay plugged forever! If only there was something we could do..."

* * *

Sora and May tried to pull Pooh out of the hole from outside the house, but it was not successful.

"Oh, how will I eat honey if I'm stuck here, When it's lunch time, perhaps you could bring me a honey jar," Pooh said.

"Um, that's the least of your concerns, Pooh," Sora replied with slight irritation in his voice. He then gave up on trying to pull Pooh out.

"No honey until you're unstuck!" Rabbit scolded. "If only there was something we do…," Rabbit's ears suddenly shot up, "Wait, I know! A bit of carrot juice will do the trick! I have a carrot patch on the other side of the stream. Carrot top juice is the ticket to slimming down a Pooh!"

Rabbit turned around eagerly to go to his carrot patch when he suddenly shouted "Oh no!" in horror.

A small tiger with a curled tail bounced into the field, destroying the bridge over the stream, and stomping out multiple carrot roots. ' _Well, I wondering when Tigger would show up,'_ May thought, bemused. A childish, nostalgic part of her was excited because Tigger was her favorite character when she was little. Rabbit, however, was definitely not pleased at the moment to see the bouncing tiger.

Tigger bounced onto Sora, knocking him to ground with him on top. "Hey there! Name's Tigger! T-I-double guh-RR. That spells Tigger!" He introduced proudly, and May held in the urge to coo over how adorable it was. Tigger looked up at May while still pinning Sora to the ground. "Well, now! I don't think I ever seen you two before!" ' _I don't think this world is any better than Wonderland,'_ Sora thought in annoyance.

"Hello, Tigger. You just bounced on my new friend, Sora," Pooh explained.

"Hey, Pooh! Say, Pooh, you're lookin' mighty uncomfy today," Tigger said in worry as he finally noticed Pooh. "Is that some new exercise? Why bouncing around is a lot more fun!" Tigger said as he started to bounce up and down on Sora, much to the latter's chagrin.

"Um, Tigger sweetie, I don't think Sora likes that," May said while giggling. Sora started to turn green. Tigger bounced off of Sora and bounced right into May's arms. "And who might you be, miss?"

"My name's May," she greeted warmly while holding him. "I think your friend Pooh needs some help."

Sora rose up and breathed heavily. "W-Why do you bounce around so much Tigger?" He asked.

Tigger bounced dramatically from May and bounced in front of Rabbit's house. "Why? Cause' bouncin' is what Tiggers does best!" Tigger looked around the field. "Speaking of which, my bouncin' spot has gone and disappeared! So for now, this will be my new bouncin' ground!" Tigger than began to bounce around in Rabbit's garden.

"Tigger's bouncing will ruin my vegetables!" Rabbit exclaimed in worry. "And if we don't give Pooh some carrot top juice, he will be stuck forever! Please help me, keep Tigger away from my carrots!"

Owl suddenly appeared, flying in next to Rabbit. "This is quite a fix. But I have the solution, pay attention now," the wise owl said, "If Tigger bounces on a carrot patch, it is buried. Simply protect the carrot patch from Tigger."

May ran into the carrot patch, just as Tigger buried one carrot patch. When Tigger was about to bounce on another patch, May clasped her hands together as if she was playing volleyball, and bounced Tigger in the air with her hands. "Ooh!" Tigger proclaimed in excitement, and tried to bounce on another patch to get the same reaction from May. The both of them continued to do this until the small tiger bounced away from Rabbit's garden.

"Say, you kept up pretty good there, May, especially for a non-Tigger. Let's have another go!" The small tiger proclaimed. Tigger then bounced happily away to another area, and Rabbit let out a massive sigh of relief. He walked away to his garden, and picked a fresh carrot from a plant. "Thank you. Now I'd better make that carrot top juice," he said, "I'll get the carrots, so please wait inside the house.

* * *

With the carrot top juice, Pooh slipped easily out of the rabbit hole with the help of Sora, who pushed him out. However Sora pushed Pooh a little too hard, and Pooh went flying into an honey pot outside, knocking out several cabbage and pumpkin patches.

"First my carrot patch, and now this," Rabbit said, glumly.

With the pot on his head, Pooh couldn't see anything. "Oh bother. Where am I? It's ever so dark in here," Pooh said while stumbling around with the pot on his head. "Well, it isn't so bad, I suppose. There is plenty of honey." Pooh began to lick the honey inside the pot.

Rabbit sighed again and went inside his house. As long as there was a Pooh and a Tigger, his garden and honey pots will never know peace.

* * *

Inside the next page was a bluff over a meadow, and a wooden beam bridge crossing over a brook. In top of the bluff was a large oak tree, with a tire swing attached to one of the branches.

Across the brook was a tiny lean-to made of wooden sticks.

Pooh and Piglet leaned on the railing of the bridge, looking at the waters below.

"Look Pooh! Something is floating away this away!" Piglet explained.

"I think you're right, Piglet. What could it be?" Pooh replied.

A rotund, grey donkey floated aimlessly down the brook, resigned to his fate.

"Why, it is Eeyore! Hello, Eeyore, if it is you," Pooh greeted with no worry in his voice.

Eeyore looked up. "Hello, Pooh. Yes, it's me," he said glumly, "Could you pull me up? That is, if it's not too much trouble. Of course you don't have to if you don't want to." Eeyore sunk his head back down into the water as he continued to float down the brook.

"Why are they just standing there? He's in danger!" Sora asked. He then rushed to brook, jumped into the water, and grabbed Eeyore. May pulled them both out of the water.

"Thank you, Pooh. Thank you, other you," Eeyore said in appreciation, albeit with a gloomy tone. "You know, floating along out there, it seemed like something was missing…and something is still missing."

"Why, Eeyore's tail is gone!" Piglet exclaimed in horror. Indeed, where there was supposed to be tail, was nowhere to be found on Eeyore's behind.

"Is that what's missing?" Eeyore asked. He peeked around the back of him. "Let's see...Yep, lost it again. Wonder where it went this time. It's not too much of a tail, though I'm sort of attached to it," Eeyore dipped his head down in sadness, "But I don't know why anyone would look for it. Probably won't find it anyway."

"Geez, he's not a ray of sunshine is he?" Sora whispered to May.

"Eeyore has always been like that," May simply replied. It's why Eeyore was her least favorite character. Rini loved Eeyore though.

Pooh turned to the two teenagers. "Sora and May, why don't we all look for Eeyore's tail?"

"Lost something?" Owl asked as he flew in again. He flapped his wings as he landed on the ground. "Searching from a high place is the quickest way to find it!"

' _Owl has been really helpful so far. Usually his 'advice' isn't really that good,'_ May thought.

"Owl, can you fly up high and help us find Eeyore's tail?" Sora asked in hope. Owl shook his head in response.

"Sorry, but my eyes aren't what they used to be. Too much reading to know. But I can offer helpful advice!"

" _Nevermind. Owl is still ultimately freaking useless,'_ May thought again dryly.

Sora scratched his head in confusion. "Owls can read?"

"Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to," Eeyore repeated from what he said earlier.

"But we _do_ want to, Eeyore. We _want_ to help you," May replied as she rubbed Eeyore's back. "Everyone deserves help."

"Even me?" The donkey asked gloomingly.

" _Especially_ you," May reassured with a cheerful smile.

* * *

"All I have to do is swing Pooh?" Sora asked. Pooh leaned inside of the tire swing underneath the oak tree.

"Yes, but before he reaches the ground. He needs to pushed high enough so he can land into that tent down there," Owl pointed out.

Sora did what he was told and pushed Pooh so hard, the little bear went flying and landed in the wooden lean to that was Eeyore's "home". Underneath the branches was Eeyore's tail.

Eeyore took a close look at it. "Hm? That looks familiar…"

May picked his tail up. "Because its yours! Now turn around so I can pin it back on!" Of all the games of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey she played at parties, she never thought she was going to pin an actual tail on an actual donkey.

After she put his tail back on, Eeyore put on a rare smile in gratitude.

"It's not much of a tail, but its mine," he stated, "Thanks everyone."

"I wish we could put the Hundred Acre Wood back the way it was, too!" Pooh said.

* * *

Inside the next page was a clearing full of tree stumps.

Tigger was bouncing on one end of a seesaw made of tree stumps, and a brown joey was bouncing on the other end.

Tigger grinned widely when he saw Sora and May walked towards him and tRoo.

"This here is my bouncin' spot! We can bounce around all day here!" He exclaimed.

"Nothing beats bouncin'!" The joey agreed. "I'm Roo!"

"Ya wanna bounce too, kids? It's lotsa fun!" Tigger asked. May smiled awkwardly.

"Um...right now we're looking for-"

"Bounce with us!" Roo pleaded, and the little joey wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Fiiiiinnnnneee," May and Sora said at the same time. They both looked at each other and blushed.

* * *

Pooh waddled along a muddy path while holding his head.

"What are you doing, Pooh?" Sora asked.

"Shh. Quiet or they'll get away!" Pooh lightly scolded.

"Who?" May asked.

"The people who took everyone away. See their footprints?" Pooh said, pointing to the footprints on the ground. "We were all sticking around to make sure no one got lost again. But then I saw some footprints that needed following. So I did. Suddenly, everyone was gone. Bad people must have taken them away!"

Pooh didn't realize that the footprints were his.

"Honey..." May started to say while getting secondhand embarrassment.

"Actually, Pooh, I think those footprints are...Um…," Sora added.

"Let's just look for your friends," May finished.

The first friend they found was Eeyore, who was hiding inside of a shrubbery. He was looking for sticks to rebuild his tent, since Pooh crushed it by falling into the tent. Near a well, Rabbit was inside one of the holes. He had followed Owl, who had flew off somewhere.

Pooh grabbed a glowing blue flower and floated to a higher platform, where Tigger was bouncing on top of a log. He followed Pooh, then bounced too high and ended up on the platform. May had to hit a tree root to find Roo. Next was Owl, who flew around the area frantically, trying to tame a bouncing Roo, and got lost as well. Sora was frowning at everyone's poor communication skills.

Finally, Piglet was hiding in hole in a tree.

"Pooh, where are we?" The tiny pig asked fearfully with tears in his eyes.

"I don't know where we are either, Piglet. But if we go back the way we came, we should find home," Pooh reasoned. Piglet stepped out the hole hesitantly, but calmed down when he stood next to Pooh.

Everyone was together again, and hopefully never be separated again.

* * *

When the sky turned dark and the stars shimmered brightly in the sky, the inhabitants in the Hundred Acre Wood crowded around each other.

"I'm so glad we're all together again," Piglet said as everyone sat on top of the bluff where Eeyore was found in the brook underneath. "I didn't know what to do when I was all alone." He sunk his head down at the thought of not having Pooh to protect him.

"Aw, Piglet, you gotta be brave," Tigger replied cheerfully.

"You weren't lonely at all?" Piglet asked in disbelief.

"Lonely? Are you kidding'?" Tigger responded as he started to bounce again. "I'm a tigger! The most wonderful thing about tiggers is that I'm the only one! But I do admit, friends are awfully fun too!"

"Think, think, think," Pooh said to himself, poking his head.

"Hey, Pooh, what are you thinking about now"? Rabbit asked.

"Oh, well, I'm just thinking about what to think about," Pooh replied. Sora started to snicker, but May pinched him, shutting him up immediately.

"Well, I guess it's time to go," May said sadly. It was nice not having to fight any heartless at all, which meant the inhabitants of the woods were still innocent about the fighting and destruction that was going on outside the book. They were all separated from each other due to the torn pages, but nobody's heart was stolen. The 100 Acre Woods was as childish and peaceful as it was supposed to be, the only Disney world that was at this point. She and Sora wanted to stay longer, but they knew they couldn't. Ansem had to be defeated.

"Sora, May, where are you going?" Piglet asked the two teenagers.

"I'm gonna go look for my friends, they're waiting for me," Sora simply replied as he stood up.

"And May has a sister to come back to. But I had a lot of fun here with you guys. I hope I can come here again someday," Sora said with a soft smile. He appreciated their innocence too, and he sort of envied how lucky Pooh and his friends were for not seeing their home get invaded by heartless.

"Bounce on back again!" Tigger said, still bouncing.

"I hope you find your friends!" Piglet said anxiously.

"Thank you, Piglet," May said with a cheerful grin, "You can be brave Piglet someday, I believe it!"

As the two teenagers walked down the bluffs and out of the meadow, everyone waved them goodbye.

"Sora and May, don't forget...we will always be here," Pooh said. "If you would like to visit again, that is."

Sora and May disappeared in blue sparkles, and their chapter in the Hundred Acre Woods were finished, and the keyhole to the world was sealed.

* * *

When May and Sora appeared back into Merlin's home, May noticed something on the cover of Winnie The Pooh. "Hey look, Babyface! We're on the cover!"

"Huh?" Sora replied, then he looked at the book. He and May were on each side holding Pooh and Tigger's hands were Piglet walked behind them. "Oh...wow," he said in amazement.

May then realized something. ' _Wait, where was Roo's mom, Kanga? And even bigger question...what the hell happened to Christopher Robin? Does he like not exist anymore?'_

While May was pondering her questions, Sarina, Donald, and Goofy stumbled in...and they all looked like they've been through hell. Sarina had scratches and bruises all over body, Goofy was wrapped in multiple bandages all over his body, and Donald was singed to the core.

"Jesus, what happened to you guys?" Sora questioned in worry.

Sarina shivered, traumatized at what she had to go through today. "T-There was a giant h-h-heartless in Agrabah with six arms and two swords. An-And in Neverland, there...there was a phantom…"

She passed out on the ground, and Goofy and Donald soon followed.

The horrors they faced in those worlds could not be described.

* * *

 _Ansem Report #11_

 _Opening the door to a world's heart causes its walls to crumble._

 _These fragments are seen as shooting stars_

 _This explains why these "gummi blocks" can travel freely to other worlds._

 _I know the catalyst of this collapse—the appearance of the Heartless. However, it will take time search out the worlds' doors and to retrieve each heart._

 _Furthermore, the doors can be locked using a Keyblade, making the heart forever unattainable. I must take action before the wielder of the key appears in this world._

 _If the princesses and the Keyblade are connected, they should resonate._

 _I've chosen a girl. I don't know if she holds the princesses' powers, but I will find out. She may lead me to the key bearer._

 _I shall set her free and observe._


	15. End Of The World

A/N: Well, we're almost at the end. Two chapters to go!

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Kingdom Hearts. This is all purely for my enjoyment and hopefully yours!

* * *

"Are we ready?" May asked everyone on the gummi ship.

The atmosphere on the ship was quiet but tense. There was a heavy sense of fear within everyone on what needed to be done. They were going to confront Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, the man behind the Heartless Invasion. Who engineered the destruction of many worlds through the Heartless and Maleficent, who tried to use The Princesses of Hearts for power, and possessed Riku for his gain. His power was immense, colossal, and no one was sure if they were all going to come out of this fight alive.

But there was courage too.

"We've come this far, haven't we? Together, as one, we defeated every thing the worlds could throw at us. And we came out stronger with each win. We destroyed every plan Maleficent and her cronies came up with, and my fellow princesses are saved. Now we have only one loose end to tie up. If Ansem thinks he can take us, then he has another thing coming!" May boasted, punching her fist into her other hand.

"Yeah, with you guys at my side, we can take this guy and save Riku!" Sora responded in a cheerful manner. The two of them looked at Sarina expectantly. She bit her lip nervously before nodding in agreement.

Donald and Goofy shot each other determined looks. Wherever Riku is, the King might be there as well. They both had a strong feeling they would find their beloved best friend soon.

With vigour, Goofy pulled down the latch for the gummi ship, and off they were to the End of the World.

* * *

They landed in a dark cave.

Walking out of it, they saw what could only be described as a sea of darkness, only illuminated by an eerie violet light. Pieces of worlds destroyed by the heartless continuously fell onto the field, while fragments of snowy land dotted the sea. A bright portal could be seen, seemingly miles away.

This was it. The Final Dimension.

"Gawrsh, is that all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless?" Goofy asked, looking at the falling pieces.

"So they all came here, at the end of all things," May said as Sarina kneeled down to touch the water. To her shock, her hand didn't go through the water and only created a ripple.

"Those worlds will be restored if we defeat Ansem, right?" Sora asked. He swallowed down any feelings of fear down his throat.

"You betcha," Donald replied nervously.

"But, if we do beat him and all these worlds become restored and disconnected, what's going to happen to this place, and to us?" Sora asked again.

"Well...uh…,"

"This is a heartless world, so maybe it'll just disappear," Goofy explained, making everyone look at him in fear, "But no worries. Even if this world goes poof, our hearts ain't going nowhere. Especially May's because she's a princess of heart. I'm sure we'll find our pals again. Yup, I just know we will!"

Sora put his hand over his heart. He smiled. "Yeah you're right." He pulled out the charm Kairi gave to him. ' _I'll return this. I promise,'_ he vowed.

The walk to the portal seemed endless, especially over the sea with no depth. Each step made everyone just feel tense.

There was not a single sound to be heard except their footsteps. Nothing was visible except the pieces of worlds falling and the portal. It felt hollow.

When they almost reached the portal, a giant ball of darkness fell out of the sky and crashed into them.

* * *

Inside a dark and snowy wasteland, a Behemoth was waiting for them.

"What? You again? The first ass beating wasn't enough?" May asked, incredulous. The heartless let out a vicious roar in response, shaking the whole field. Summoning her keyblade, May ran towards the creature and swiped at its leg, only for the Behemoth to leap in the air. She stumbled to the ground and looked in horror as the creature was about to land on her.

"SHIELD!" Sarina bellowed and a silver dome covered May, causing the Behemoth to bounce off the barrier and crash to the ground.

The Behemoth glared at the younger twin and charged at her.

"BLIZZAGA!" Sarina yelled again, and large projectiles of ice launched out of her keyblade and impaled the Behemoth in various areas of her body.

Sora and May looked at her in shock, but Sarina smiled in pride.

"It's the final form of the Blizzard spell, and I learned it from fighting the Phantom."

"That's pretty badass!" May exclaimed in excitement. "Hey Donald can you teach us that?"

"Why of course! NOW CAN WE GET BACK TO FIGHTING THIS THING!" Donald bellowed, causing the teenagers to wince.

"My ears, my damn ears," May grumbled.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I go deaf due to his constant screaming," Sora added with a sweat drop.

The Behemoth leaped in the air again.

When it landed back down, it caused a major shockwave, pushing everyone back. May quickly recovered and jumped on top of its head. She rammed her keyblade inside of its head, causing the Behemoth to roar in yell in pain. It lifted its body up, and slammed it back down, sending May flying.

Sora caught her without much effort. He casted Firaga at the beast as it charged towards them. The blast made the Behemoth stumble back, and it disappeared into dust when Sarina casted a storm of lightning bolts that. It was Thundaga, the final form of the Thunder spell, and one of the few good things to come out of that horrid battle with the Phantom heartless.

"Is it over?" Sora asked with hope in his voice.

Two heartless with the appearance of demons appeared wielding large swords. They both also had wings.

"I think it's time we retire that phrase," May commented dryly.

* * *

When they entered the portal, the party landed in a giant canyon. It was a vast, colorful monstrosity. Pieces of gummi blocks were scattered all over the canyon, and there were multiple platforms held by green web-like formations. And like the Final Dimension, not a single sound could be heard in the whole area except for the sound of everyone's heartbeats.

It reminded May of the final level of Silent Hill. In fact, everything about this whole adventure oddly felt like a video games of sorts. ' _And Ansem is the big, bad final boss,'_ she thought in amusement.

"I wonder where that Ansem feller went?" Goofy asked.

"Dive into the most dangerous place, and we'll find out!" Donald remarked.

Sora looked down. "This is going to be deep dive."

"But since we can glide, it's not as scary," May boasted. She then jumped down into the abyss.

"May!" Sarina called, jumping after her. Donald shook his head in annoyance. Protecting a Princess of Heart isn't easy if the princess is reckless like May Grey.

"Princesses aren't supposed to jump without looking," the court wizard commented while rolling his eyes.

"Well, May is different. That's why I like her," Sora replied before jumping down. Donald and Goofy sighed together.

 _All_ three of the kids were the most reckless, foolish, wild, and disobedient teenagaers they ever met.

Just like themselves and Mickey when they were all teenagers.

* * *

A glowing green passage lay at the bottom of the chasm. Being the first to land, May stared at it in curiosity before touching the glow. It caused the passage to burst, and all of the party was encased in a white light.

The next area they arrived in was an empty abyss of darkness, except for multiple pillars scattered throughout the area. It seemed as if they were in the jaws of a monster as multiple, large teeth seeming trapped them inside.

A purple beam of light erupted from within the middle of the terminal the group was in. May reached to touch the beam before Donald smacked her hand.

"Ow! The hell was that for!" May whined, rubbing her now sore hand.

"Stop touching things without seeing if it was safe!" Donald chided harshly.

"Well genius, tell me how else we're supposed to get out of this thing? Jump into the abyss of nothing!" May argued. As the two of them began to bicker, Sarina touched the beam and promptly disappeared.

* * *

 _Sarina appeared inside of a cottage in the woods. She had a feeling she had been here before but when? 'Where am I?'_

 _She walked into the kitchen, only to freeze at the sight of Snow White baking in the kitchen. Her prince was assisting by washing the dishes for her. She walked towards them, but they did not react. They must have not seen her._

" _Are you sure I can't help?" The Prince asked in amusement. Snow White shook her head._

" _Absolutely not, Florian! They love my apple pie and if it wasn't prepared by me...why I think they would be cross with me!" She replied strongly in her signature melodic voice. "Now hand me the apple slices."_

 _Seeing her in person only made Sarina realize how young Snow truly was. Snow White was fourteen just like her, but she was very short in appearance while Prince Florian toward over her. 'Florian? So that's what his name is…'_

 _She turned her head at the sound of singing and whistling._

 _The seven dwarfs entered the cottage in synchronized movement, and in order led by Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey. "Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! It's home from work we go!" The dwarfs sang together, but Doc stopped at the sight of Snow White, making the rest of the dwarfs trip forward._

" _Snow White!" The dwarfs exclaimed, all wide-eyed and surprised. She giggled and did a little bow. Suddenly they all started to push and shove each other in competition to be the first to greet their beloved princess._

 _Grumpy was the first to reach her, and Snow kneeled down and captured him in her arms. She kissed him sweetly on the forehead while he tried to hold back a smile. Soon, the rest of the dwarves except Bashful piled on top of them, and Dopey gave her a big wet kiss in her forehead. Bashful shyly waved at her instead._

" _Oh hello to all of you!" Snow exclaimed happily._

" _Nothing for me?" Prince Florian commented wryly. He was ignored._

 _With a loud protest from Grumpy, everybody finally got off of Snow. Grumpy rolled his eyes, walked over to a wall, and opted to just watch everyone with his usual frown._

" _Princess, what are you here doing here if I may ask?" Doc asked curiously._

" _Yeah, aren't you and the Prince supposed to be running the kingdom?" Sleepy asked tiredly. He then yawned loudly._

" _I couldn't resist visiting you all! I miss everyone," She replied._

" _And she wouldn't take no for an answer," Florian replied with a grin. He didn't mind at all as he could tell his wife's relationship with the little men was strong. After all they hunted down and killed the Evil Queen in a rage when they thought she murdered Snow._

" _Well it is fantastic surprise regardless! It's so great to see our beautiful princess!" Happy exclaimed joyfully._

" _What...what...wh...ACHOO...ever happened to that Ventus fellow?" Sneezy asked while rubbing his nose._

' _Ventus?'' Sarina thought in confusion._

 _Her chest tightened at the name. A sweet, but pained feeling fell over her. 'Ventus...Ventus...why does that feel familiar to me?" A flurry of emotions hit her, but she couldn't connect a face to them._

" _Oh! The pie is ready!" Snow exclaimed while running to the oven. When she opened up the oven door, everyone sighed in content at what Sarina assumed to be the sweet aroma of apple pie._

" _Who would like the first slice?" Snow said while cutting up pie slices._

 _Before anyone could answer, a loud crash was heard outside._

 _It was the Heartless._

 _Sarina tried to summon her keyblade but it would not appear. Before her very eyes, the Heartless swarmed the cottage and grabbed Snow White. Florian and the seven dwarfs tried to stop them, but their weapons were nothing compared to the power of darkness._

" _NO!" Sarina shouted as she called for Moonlight over and over again to save the princess. "NO-"_

* * *

"Rini?" May asked in worry. Her twin just touched the beam and disappeared.

"Do you think we should do the same? It seems like the only form of travel," Sora suggested before touching the beam.

He vanished into thin air too, leaving behind May and a gobsmacked Donald and Goofy. May looked at the court warriors with a raised eyebrow.

"So are y'all coming or naw?" May asked before touching the beam. Donald and Goofy reached out and did the same just as May disappeared.

* * *

 _Sora was in a dark castle somewhere._

 _Princess Aurora and a prince walked down a hallway, giggling together._

" _We're supposed to be hosting the ball, Phillip," Aurora said with mischief in her voice._

" _Well, I'm sure the guests can wait," Prince Phillip replied. Suddenly, he shoved her into a wall and kissed her. Aurora responded passionately, moaning._

 _Sora watched, feeling very awkward and very much like a pervert._

 _Thankfully, the two teenagers stopped when red, green, and blue balls of light floated into the hallway. The balls turned into three elderly faires, who wore the corresponding colors._

" _Briar Rose! Prince Philip! Get back into the ballroom this instant!" The fairy dressed in red scolded with her hands on her hips._

" _Oh Flora, we can't even get away for only a little while?" Aurora asked._

" _You can conceive the crown prince or princess AFTER the ball is over," the one dressed in blue commented with a bemused face._

 _Aurora and Phillip blushed a deep red at the implication._

" _Merryweather!" The fairy in green said with a gasp._

" _Oh hush it, Fauna! You know how the young are when they're in love!"_

 _A booming roar was suddenly heard from the ballroom, and loud screaming followed._

 _Sora followed Aurora, Philip, and the fairies as they ran inside of the ballroom._

 _Maleficent was in her dragon form, spitting fire at multiple guests as everyone tried to frantically get away from the carnage._

" _Maleficent? But-But-But it can't be!" Fauna exclaimed in horror._

" _I killed her! With the lady Aqua! How did she come back?" Philip said in anger, while pulling out his sword. An army of heartless appeared and tore through the people of the ball as if they were paper._

' _Aqua?' Sora thought as something in his heart stirred at the name, looking down at the ground. Feelings of affection, admiration, and a tiny amount of betrayal welled up in him. 'Why does that sound so familiar?'_

 _He looked up, and Princess Aurora was in the jaws of Dragon Maleficent._

* * *

 _May watched as Cinderella and Prince Charming had an announcement to make to his father._

" _I am with child," the princess said with joy. Charming had the biggest, happiest grin on his face. His father, the king, bounced up and down at the expectation of a grandchild in nine months._

" _I knew it, Charles! I knew you would give my first grandson soon!" The King exclaimed in excitement._

" _Or granddaughter," Cinderella suggested with amusement._

" _Or granddaughter," The King corrected. He sighed happily. "Oh I bet she would be the most beautiful and determined girl in the kingdom, after her mother of course." Cinderella blushed at the comment._

" _Now, now father, don't be making passes at my wife," Charming warned teasingly._

" _I want our child to be named Terra, after the brave warrior who gave me hope," Ella said._

' _Terra?' May thought as a sorrowful feeling came over her. 'Why does that name hurt?'_

 _She spent a minute thinking about it before heartless appeared unexpectedly. She tried to summon Sunlight, but to no avail. 'Um, what?' She thought in confusion._

 _Maleficent appeared with an evil grin. "Do what you please, but make sure the princess is captured."_

" _Who are you?" Cinderella asked. She then gasped in horror when two of the heartless attacked and ripped the hearts out of her husband and father-in-law._

" _Only the mistress of all evil," Maleficent proclaimed before shooting a green beam at Cinderella._

* * *

Everyone reunited at a new station, where instead of a purple pillar, a black hole lined with a ring of fire appeared in its place. They seemed to be in a hallway of Hollow Bastion, where a giant image of the Heartless symbol appeared on the other side of the hallway.

"Can anyone tell me what the hell just happened?" May asked, disturbed at what she had to witness.

"Memories...memories of how the heartless invasion came and took Snow, Aurora, and Cinderella," Sarina explained numb with shock.

"Because of that bitch, Maleficent," May replied with gritted teeth. She almost ended up in their position. How dare Maleficent come back and ruined the princesses' happy endings. May wanted to kill her again.

"If we don't destroy Ansem, then this could happen again. He could _bring_ back Maleficent if we don't stop him!" Sora exclaimed while balling up his fists.

A door in front of the group opened ominously, revealing a large laboratory inside with a machine and a computer attached to it. The group walked, and a message appeared on the computer screen;

 _Ones born of the heart and darkness, devoid of hearts_ _, ravage all worlds and bring desolation._

 _Seize all hearts and consummate the great heart._

 _All hearts to be one, one heart to encompass all._

 _Realize the destiny: the realm of Kingdom Hearts._

 _The great darkness sealed within the great heart._

 _Progeny of darkness, come back to the eternal darkness._

 _For the heart of light shall unseal the path._

 _Seven hearts, one Keyhole, one key to the door._

 _The door of darkness, tied by two keys._

 _The door of darkness to seal the light._

 _None shall pass but shadows, returning to the darkness._

 _Ones born of the heart and darkness, hunger for every heart until the dark door opens._

"This Ansem guy is one crazy bastard," May remarked, frowning.

"The scary part is that I don't think he did this all on his own," Sora replied.

"Well duh, what about Maleficent?" Donald replied with an eye roll.

"I doubt an evil fairy from medieval times knows anything about a scientific lab, doofus," May said.

"Hey!"

"I have a feeling something horrible happened in here," Sarina commented in worry.

The atmosphere in the room was quiet, but tense.

"Do ya guys see those capsules over there?" Goofy asked everyone. Ten pairs of eyes were directed to five human-sized capsules on one side of the room, all hooked up to a mysterious liquid.

"By horrible, do you mean unauthorized experimentation," May responding, chuckling nervously.

"I think we should be going now," Sora said, extremely creeped out. ' _What the hell happened in here?'_

It would be a long time before he would find out.

* * *

A portal made of wind was waiting for them in the final terminal. Without warning, the portal sucked them all in. Through the portal was another field of quiet darkness, except for a large mountain in the center.

The ability to fly was granted towards the whole party.

"You know, something about that mountain seems off," May said, flying over the mountain to get a closer look. ' _You know what's even odder? That we haven't encountered any characters from Fantasia yet,'_ she thought to herself. Not that she was a big fan of the movie or anything, it was one of the "meh" Disney movies to her.

Sora was flying next to her. "Yeah, why does the top of the mountain have wings?"

"It has what?" May asked, confused.

A familiar orchestral song began to play from a certain Fantasia short…

"Wait, why do I hear 'A Night On Bald Mountain'?" May asked again. She then blanched. "Wait a minute…"

It seemed the whole field began to shake as what appeared to be the tip of the mountain was not the tip, but a giant, black demon with yellow eyes. It unfolded it wings and let out a mighty roar. Only its upper half was visible, as the lower half was hidden inside a pool of lava.

"Oh come THE F**K ON! Any Fantasia character BUT this asshole!" May exclaimed in equal parts of fear and anger.

Sarina almost wet herself at the sight of the bringer of her nightmares as a child...The Demon of Bald Mountain, Chernabog.

"That thing is huge!" Sora shouted.

Chernabog opened its mouth and began to suck in all of them.

"Blizzaga!" Sarina quickly shouted, freezing its mouth temporarily. The time allowed May to cast Aeroga by rapidly spinning her keyblade.

As expected, the spell did not last long as Chernabog melted Blizzaga spell with its mouth. It threw its head back, and a orange light rose from its throat.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" May shouted before Chernabog shot a beam of fire from its mouth. Donald was able to dodge the attack, but not Goofy, who was burned to the crisp in a cartoonish manner.

"Welp," Goofy said simply before passing out in the air.

Sora flew around the back of the demon's head and slashed its neck. Chernabog roared in pain before flapping his wings, pushing them all forward away from him. Ten bubbles appeared in a circled formation in him. The bubbles then launched forward towards the group.

"Barrier!" Donald yelled as a barrier protected them from the attack. The bubbles bounced back and hit Chernabog one by one in its chest. The demon howled again.

May pivoted her body like a torpedo while conjuring up wind around her. She crashed into the demon's left eye. Chernabog attempted to smack her away but May blocked the blow and stabbed its eye.

"THUNDAGA!" Sora yelled, calling down a rain of thunderbolts on Chernabog's head. The spell caused the demon to twitch violently.

Sarina casted Curaga onto Goofy, and the royal knight was ready to fight again.

"What did I miss?" Goofy asked, yawning.

"GOOFY GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" Donald screamed while trapped inside of Chernabog's hand. It had grabbed after it stopped twitching. Chernabog started to slam Donald repeatedly into the mountain.

Goofy flew over and hurled his shield at the hand, and Donald was released from Chernabog's grip. It tried to grab them both, only for Sarina to blast its hand with Firaga.

Fully enraged, Chernabog roared and the volcano beneath him began to erupt. Everyone tried to fly away before Chernabog unleashed its most devastating attack, which was a giant pillar of fire shooting up from the volcano. Donald and Goofy were immediately caught in the blast, and the pillar grew larger in size.

"Tink! Come out!" May called for the tiny fairy.

Tinkerbell appeared in a burst of gold sparkles. She flew over to the royal knights and healed them both instantly.

"Thanks Tink!" Goofy said in appreciation. The tiny fairy smiled, and then casted a protective barrier over the three teens before they were knocked out from the blast as well.

"Alright, let's call out a friend," Sora stated, pulling out the blue stone found in Monstro. "Summon!"

A baby elephant appeared from a burst of bubbles. It wore a yellow clown hat and a red and yellow clown collar. Its ears were abnormally large, even for an elephant.

"Dumbo?" May asked as she flew over to the elephant.

Dumbo looked around his surroundings in fear. He didn't know where he was, and his mother and Timothy were nowhere to be found. The demon was the scariest thing he ever saw, and he covered his face in fear as it roared.

"Hey buddy, can you help us?" Sora requested, rubbing the elephant's head. "He may seem scary, but he can be stopped with some good teamwork!"

Dumbo peeked at Sora through its ears, not sure whether to trust him or not.

"Um Dumbo?" May asked as Chernabog gathered up fire in its throat. "It would be great if you can show us what you can do now."

Chernabog shot a beam of fire at the three of them, and without much thought, Dumbo countered the attack with a huge geyser of water sprouted from its trunk. The water overpowered the fire and hit the demon in the chest. Chernabog bent over in pain.

"Oh, that's something," May commented brightly. Dumbo disappeared, not wanting to get more involved anymore with the demon.

Sarina flew around Chernabog's torso, casting ice around its body, trapping it in ice.

Chernabog struggled to move around in the ice. It reached for the mage, only to suddenly clutch its throat.

Sora had jammed his keyblade inside of Chernabog's throat when it was distracted. Black blood started to flow down its neck.

"I think it's over!" Sora declared. "FIRAGA!"

Chernabog's throat bursted from the impact of the fire attack.

"Thundaga!" May shouted while shooting lightning bolts at Chernabog's heart.

Chernabog exploded in a big burst of darkness, and now inside the volcano was just a crater.

"That thing was scary as hell," Sora stated, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, and I thought seeing him on TV was terrifying. Now I can have nightmares of fighting the real thing!" May commented dryly.

The group flew down inside the crater, where multiple pieces from unrecognizable worlds appeared from all over the crater.

Pieces that made up what used to be the worlds of Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora.

* * *

At the very bottom of the crater, a chamber with a large door was there.

Sora recognized the door immediately from his dreams. He had a feeling that whatever is behind the door was be definitive, everything they went through was building up to this.

"Sora," May said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared."

Everyone looked at May, not expecting her of all people to be scared.

"You? Why?" Sora replied teasingly.

"Because I think this is it. Ansem is waiting for us on the other side," she said, feeling very tense. She sensed a massive presence of darkness from the door. She knew it was him. She just knew.

"Well let's go get him!" Donald exclaimed, waving his staff around in determination.

"If we don't stop him, we'll die. The worlds will collapse and everyone we love will actually die," May explained, staring ominously at the door.

Sarina hugged her twin and held her for a moment.

"May, this is nothing to be scared of. You said back in Deep Jungle, that if we come together as one, then nothing can stop us," the younger twin said, smiling softly.

"But Rini-"

"Did the Guard Armor stop us?" Sora spoke up. "The Trickmaster? Hades, Clayton, Monstro, Jafar, Ursula, Oogie Boogie, Captain Hook, and Maleficent? No, they didn't stand a chance against us because they didn't have what we have: Love. Strength. Friendship. The will to fight for those we care about. Their hearts weren't strong enough to withstand the force of light, May. And this Ansem is not going to be strong enough either! We're going to _beat_ him, May, and that's the end of that!" Sora boasted confidently.

"Yeah! You said it, Sora!" Goofy cheered.

"Whatever happens guys, it was worth because I met all of you," May responded. She then cracked a confident grin. "Of course whatever is on the other side is just a road bump."

The door opened and a white light blinded them all.


	16. Finale

It appeared that they were in Destiny Islands.

"Is this...Is this my island?" Sora asked in confusion, walking along the white sands.

It _looked_ like home, in fact it looked the area he would play with Riku and Kairi.

But something was off.

"This world has been connected," Ansem's voice said as one of the mini islands disappeared.

"What was that?" Goofy asked, looking behind himself.

"Ansem! Where are you, you bastard!" May called out angrily.

"Tied to the darkness...:"

More areas of the beach began to disappear, and pools of darkness began to appear in their place.

"Soon to be completely eclipsed…"

The sea than turned black.

"There is so much to learn but you understand so little."

The ground from underneath the group began to shake.

"A meaningless effort...One who knows nothing can understand nothing."

A light blinded the group again, and when it went away, the sand was filled with cracks, and darkness oozed underneath them.

Riku, in his dark uniform, appeared before them, looking towards the sea.

Sora walked towards him, ignoring May's protests.

"Sora, that's not Riku!"

"Look at this tiny place," Ansem said from within Riku's body. "To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought to escape from his prison. He sought out a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness."

He turned away to the group, and revealed his true form.

"Riku!" Sora yelled in worry, reaching his hand out to Ansem.

"Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach from where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness."

"You're a liar! Riku is no longer yours, I can feel it!" May declared as she summoned her keyblade.

"All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different, princess," Ansem said, smiling deviously, "Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, it consumes. Such is its nature. In the end, every hearts returns to the darkness whence it came! You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."

"That's not true!" Sora argued, "The heart may be weak. And sometimes it may even give in. But I learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out!"

Ansem began to float in the air, folding his arms. A heartless crawled out of his back. It had a black humanoid form, yellow eyes, sharp teeth, two very long antennas on top of its bandaged head, a heart-shaped hole in its bandaged torso, and two large hands.

"So, you come this far and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!"

"Oh we understand alright. It's just that you're wrong!" May replied, running up to slash him.

The heartless attached to him punched her in the face, causing her to fall back on the sand.

"This is my guardian. He protects and destroys at my command, Princess," Ansem taunted.

"Fight your own battles!" May yelled as she threw her keyblade at him. He simply blocked the attack with his fists, deflecting the blow onto May. She yelped in pain as she was smacked in the face with her own keyblade.

"Hey!" Sora said in anger, summoning his keyblade...and it came out with a different appearance than normal. The handle of the blade was made up of angel wings, and the shaft of the key melded into two hearts, one gold and one silver, at the tip. The teeth of the keyblade formed in the shape of the japanese kanji for "light" and colored in various shades of blue, purple, yellow, and white. The lucky charm Kairi had given was the keychain.

"Huh?" Sora looked at his keyblade for a moment.

 _"It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me",_ Kairi's voice rang in his head, and he realized that the charm was Kairi's way of aiding him in the final battle.

The Guardian threw several dark purple disks at him, and Sora luckily dodged in time.

"Thundaga!" He yelled as several lightning bolts shot at Ansem and his Guardian.

Ansem just laughed as the Guardian blocked the attack. He clenched his fist, making it glow red, turned around, and backhanded Sarina for attempting to sneak up on him from behind.

"You children can not seriously think you can take me, do you? The light cannot withstand the darkness!" Ansem taunted. "Guardian! Possess them!"

The Guardian went to grab for May, but a golden glow erupted from within her and protected her with a gold barrier.

Glowing gold, May jabbed at the Guardian several times with her keyblade. In retaliation, the Guardian shoved her back and grabbed Sora by his throat instead.

Sora struggled to breath as the Guardian choked him in the air. It then slammed him into the ground with great force.

"SORA!" Donald called as he healed the brunet.

The Guardian shared a look with its master. The duck and the dog had to go.

"Release your darkness!" Ansem ordered, and the Guardian trapped Donald and Goofy in a barrier of darkness.

"No!" Sarina yelled while running towards them, only to be knocked into the air with a beam of darkness. She landed in the dark ocean. She was then dragged up into the air and sealed in a dark bubble.

"Rini!" May exclaimed in worry. She tried to run to her sister, only to get wrapped up in dark tendrils. The tendrils stopped May from moving.

"You, my dear, are a distraction from the boy. I will get to you after I'm finished with the boy," Ansem assured mockingly.

Before May could respond, another tendril wrapped itself around her mouth. She resorted to glaring daggers at the man.

"Let them go!" Sora barked, stomping his foot in the ground.

"Make me," Ansem replied flatly before flying into a giant dome of darkness.

"Oh no you don't!" Sora said before following Ansem angrily.

* * *

Inside the dome, the monster of his dreams appeared once more.

Sora glared at the heartless in determination.

"You ready for round three?"

The heartless responded before conjuring up a bright red ball. The ball floated up into the air before exploding into small balls of darkness.

Sora dodged all of the balls as they fell. He sliced the foot of the heartless, and it stumbled over its lost foot before regaining composure.

It slammed its fist into the ground, causing a major shockwave that pushed Sora back.

"Firaga!" Sora said before aiming at its chest. It stumbled back in pain before kneeling on one knee. However, it got up quickly before Sora could jump on top of it.

It slammed its fist into the ground, and Shadow heartless appeared from the ground.

Sora pulled out the red stone found in Dragon Maleficent's remains. Just because he didn't have his current party members with him didn't mean he couldn't summon more!

"SUMMON!"

A pillar of fire and smoke appeared, and the silhouette of a giant dragon could be seen within the pillar.

"Who dares to summon me!" The dragon spoke with a ominous threatening voice.

"Um me," Sora replied meekly, "I'm Sora and I need your help defeating that heartless." He didn't know what to say, he didn't know how to convince a _freakin'_ dragon to help him. It was bigger, possibly bigger than Maleficent in her dragon form!

" _Help you?_ What makes you think you are worthy enough to call upon _me_?"

"Well-"

Sora didn't finish his response as his jaw hit the floor when the fire and smoke cleared.

In front of him was the tiniest dragon he had ever seen in his life, yet it was puffing its chest out arrogantly.

"What the hell? Who the hell are you? How did you get so small?" Sora asked, incredulous.

The tiny dragon, with red skin and a yellow stomach and chest, huffed in indignation.

"Who the _hell_ am I? Who the _hell_ are you to speak to me, the great dragon Mushu this way!"

"If you're so great, why are you so small?"

"My height does not detract from my greatness! I am the guardian of lost souls! I am powerful! I AM INDESTRUCTIBLE!"

"I'm screwed."

"HEY! I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I CAN DO BOY!" Mushu barked as he hopped on top of Sora's head.

When the Shadow heartless charged towards Sora, Mushu spat out multiple fire balls. Each fire ball hit and destroyed its target.

"Woah, that was actually pretty cool!" Sora exclaimed with a wide grin.

"If you think that's cool, then watch this!"

Mushu let loose a stream of fire at the large heartless as it tried to grab at them. It flinched and cradled its now burned hand.

"FIRAGA!" Sora yelled out as he conjured up his own giant fireball. The fireball slammed into the giant heartless' chest.

The heartless got down on one knee again, and Sora took this time to run up on its arm. He rammed his keyblade into the heartless' skull.

The heartless of his nightmares disappeared one last time...and Ansem and the Guardian appeared in its place.

Nothing was said, but a mutual feeling of hatred was felt between the two of them.

Mushu did not want to stick around.

"I think I'm going to, uh, go," the tiny dragon stated awkwardly.

"What, why?" Sora asked. "What if I need your help?"

"Sorry kid, that looks like one bad dude," Mushu apologized as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sora growled as he glared at Ansem, who was smirking in response.

"Was that another friend of yours? It seems that your friends are not your power afterall," the man mocked.

At the mention of his friends, Sora felt a burning rage in his heart.

"Where are they?" Sora demanded while charging at the two of them, "WHERE ARE THEY?"

Sora swung at Ansem multiple times, only to get shoved back at the guardian.

"Your fighting style is pathetic. No aim, no finesse. You wield the keyblade like the foolish child you are," Ansem said snidely.

"SHUT UP!" Sora screamed while hurling his keyblade at the Guardian at lightning speed. The Guardian didn't have enough time to dodge the attack. It fell onto the ground with a grunt.

"Fight me," Sora growled, " _Fight me_. Enough with hiding behind others!"

Ansem chuckled. "Why so angry, boy? I am just helping the darkness in your grow. Don't you feel the darkness radiating from inside? Doesn't it feel good?"

"Stop talking!" Sora yelled while shooting Blizzaga at Ansem. Ansem simply dodged out of the way. He suddenly appeared right in front of Sora.

"You can't fight the darkness, boy. Join me, and you'll know how beneficial the darkness is!"

Sora responded to the claim by spitting in Ansem's face, earning him a smack so far he flew to the other side of the room.

Ansem was pissed off by the action, even more than Sora fighting him. The brat had the audacity to actually _spit_ in his face.

"You are a damn foolish child. I think we are done playing games," Ansem said ominously before disappearing.

"Hey get back-"

Sora's world turned black.

* * *

Sora looked around his surrounding. Everything was black around him, as if he was shrouded in pure darkness.

Nothing could be seen except a large white door lined with silver.

It was the door to Kingdom Hearts.

"Behold the endless abyss! Within lies the heart of all worlds! Look as hard as you are able, you'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born, even yours!"

Sora looked down and to his horror, Ansem was attached to what can only be described as the battleship from hell. The entire ship, which was titanic in size, seemed to be made up of twisted and discolored flesh. The shades of faded pink, cyan, brown, and yellow made up the primary colors of the ship. Its body was long and flat on top. Its face was on the front tip of its body, its main core was located on top of its body towards its rear.

A twisted, dark pink cage covered its core. Ansem and his Guardian were on top of the cage, with Ansem now shirtless and melded together with the guardian. They were both now much larger, although they were still small in comparison to the battleship. Two leg-like protrusions were attached to the battleship's underside. The foremost one, underneath its face, was long, thin, and triangular. The rearmost one, underneath the main core, was a wide, thin arc. A long, rocky "tail" sprouted from the back. The battleship's face was demonic and sported a long, pointed chin and a bulbous forehead. Its mouth was filled with large, white fangs and its eyes were fairly small, glowing yellow, and surrounded by black rings.

Sora almost threw up at the sight.

"Sora!" His friends all called as they were all trapped inside multiple flesh-covered cages.

"Get us out of these things!" May pleaded. She grabbed onto the bars holding her in, only to yelp in pain as the bars stung her hands.

"Darkness conquers all worlds!" Ansem declared, and Sora found himself suddenly falling into the abyss.

Sora screamed for help as he fell down...until he heard Riku's voice.

"Giving up already? Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that."

It was a phrase he heard all the time from Riku after he had beat the tar of out of Sora in one of friendly spars. It was Riku's favorite taunt.

But Sora now realized that he was stronger than that, because of the power from his friends.

Sora fell into black smoke, and flew right back up triumphantly.

And the thing was, not only did his friends currently trapped cages gave him power but his friends that had to be summoned gave him power too.  
"Tinkerbell!" Sora called out.

The tiny fairy and the young fawn appeared, glowing and ready to give healing aid to Sora.

Sora flew towards Ansem and slashed at his chest. "LET THEM GO!" He yelled as he blocked Ansem's fists. The Guardian smacked Sora away.

An army of heartless appeared around him, but Sora was not scared. He cut through them all, and didn't feel a single hit due to TInk's protective spell. Sora flew to the cage holding May, striking at it multiple times.

A red beam almost hit him in the chest as he tried to free May.

"Wait!" May said. "GENIE!"

Genie appeared next to her, reading a book called "500 Easy Recipes For When You Just Been Freed From The Magic Lamp".

"Hmm, I never tried tiramisu before," Genie said, rubbing his chin in thought. He then noticed where he was. "Jeez, what's going here?"

"Get me out of here Genie!" May pleaded.

"Alright then!" Genie snapped his fingers and the bars of May's cage melted where it stood.

"Thanks pal!" May said with a grin. Genie winked before disappearing. The demon heartless with wings snuck up behind Sora...

May sliced it in half with one stroke before the heartless could land a blow on him.

"Babyface, you should know better. Protect your neck," she teased.

Sora stuck his tongue out at her in response.

May looked around the ship. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Jesus...and I thought the inside of Monstro was disgusting."

The Guardian, now having giant pincers for hands, tried to stab them repeatedly as the two of them flew around the innards of the battleship to free more of their friends.

"Blizzaga!" Sora called out, and one of the pincers was suddenly trapped in ice. Sora hit it with his keyblade, and it smashed into pieces.

Sarina was trapped in a green bulbous-like organ. May frantically stabbed at the organ multiple times to free her sister, but it wouldn't work.

"Simba!" Sora called out, and the lion king was summoned.

Simba saw that his friend was in danger and let out a mighty roar. The impact caused the organ to explode, and damaged several surrounding organs in the ship.

Sarina fell to the floor, covered in green goo. She looked at it with a frown on her face.

"I know, gross right?" May said.

The three of them flew around the ship separately, destroying multiple organs.

Sarina dodged a great fireball as she countered the blow with a reflect spell. She stopped when she spotted Donald inside a twisted cage.

"Mushu!" Sora called out as he flew next to her. The tiny dragon appeared on top of his head, filing his claws.

"What you get into now, kid?"

"Mushu? He was a summon gem too?" May asked, scratching her head in confusion.

"Summon gem? That's what I was trapped inside of?" The dragon asked.

The tiny dragon looked around and then raised an eyebrow at what he saw.

"Now what the hell kind of ship is that?" He asked.

"That's Ansem and his guardian!" Sora exclaimed.

"We have to destroy it!" May added.

"How about you free me first!" Donald commanded, jumping up and down in anticipation.

Mushu rolled his eyes. "Alright duckie, no need to get snappy with me." Mushu blew a stream of fire at the bars holding in Donald, and the bars instantly melted.

"Finally!" Donald exclaimed in joy. He lifted his staff in the air and called down Thundaga. The lightning bolts struck at more parts of the battleship, doing away with the tail of the ship.

Goofy was trapped within the jaws of the ship. When Ansem spotted May trying to free Goofy, He unleashed a flurry of dark disks at her...but she elegantly dodged each one.

She glowed gold again, and jabbed at the teeth holding Goofy in with great speed. The teeth were shattered, and the captain of the royal guards was free.

"Thank ya, May! Now let's finish this!" Goofy declared as he chucked his shield inside the jaw of the ship. The jaw instantly exploded, and gone was the face of the ship.

Now all the of the group was reunited.

The final summon gem glowed in May's pocket. It was found in Rabbit's garden patch back in the 100 Acre Woods. A burst of white light appeared, and a baby fawn appeared in a pillar of leaves.

"Bambi!" The older twin said while smiling. He tilted his head in confusion, wondering where he was and who were these people that summoned him. However, he saw they were hurt and he wanted to help...

Bambi pranced around the group, healing any injuries the group had before disappearing in a bright light when his work was done.

Simba roared again one last time, and the heart of the ship was revealed. It was lavender and malformed, with a face etched on it.

"NO! THE DARKNESS WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!" Ansem screamed in protest. The Guardian was gathering up a beam of fire in its mouth.

"Dumbo," Sora said, smirking. The baby elephant appeared, and was initially scared at the monstrosity in front of him. However, he sobered up quickly when he saw that his friends needed him.

The Guardian shot a great beam of fire at the group, but Dumbo quickly countered the blow with a blast of water from his snout. They engaged in war of elements before Dumbo's attack overpowered the fire and silenced the Guardian forever.

"You see, Ansem, you're wrong. Look at what's happens when you have your friends by your side!" Sora boasted.

Everyone charged up their greatest attack. Sora and May looked at each other, grinning, before holding each other's hands.

They spun around in the air until a spiral of light formed around them.

"Aeroga!" Sarina said as a giant gust of wind covered Sora and May to protect them.

"Thundaga!" Donald called, and lightning bolts formed in the torpedo.

Goofy charged and joined them in the torpedo, and it launched.

With great force, the torpedo slammed into the heart, shattering it.

"No…," Ansem repeated at the battleship began to self destruct, "NO!"

Multiple beams of light appeared in the holes of the ship before it disappeared completely.

Ansem returned to his original form, twitching in pain. He knew it was over.

But he would not go down without one final attempt at opening Kingdom Hearts.

"It is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness," he taunted.

He reached out to the door to darkness. "Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness!"

Nothing happened at first. But then the door slowly opened, and dark smoke seeped from the other side of the door.

"Supreme darkness," Ansem said with glee.

"You're wrong. I know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Hearts…is light!" Sora yelled.

The door glowed with light, and the impact of the light was so strong, it blinded Ansem.

Ansem tried to fight back against the light, but it was no use.

"Light...but...why," were his final words before he was no more.

"There goes Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Gone into nothing," May boasted triumphantly. It was over. It was actually over.

"The door!" Sora said. "We have to seal it!"

The group ran to the door, and all of them started to push down the door with all of their strength.

Goofy peaked inside the door, and he stopped in shock at what he was seeing.

"Stop staring and keep pushing!" Donald scolded sharply. He looked at what could be possibly distract Goofy from pushing, only for his jaw to drop to the comically at what he saw.

In the realm of darkness, an army of Heartless was gathering up to try to get through the door.

"Do these things ever give up!" May shouted in frustration.

"Hurry!" Donald pushed on, but everyone was slowly getting out of breath.

"I can't…," Sora said, his arms getting weak.

"Don't give up!" A familiar voice said from the other side, pulling the door back with his hand.

It was Riku. "Come on, Sora! Together we can do it!"

Sora nodded confidently at his best friend. "Okay!"  
Two Darksides appeared from behind Riku, ready to strike.

"It's hopeless!" Donald wailed while holding his head in exhaustion.

"Look!" Sarina shouted as she looked inside the door. The royal knights gasped as the silhouette of a mouse hopped out from one of the rocks.

It was King Mickey Mouse, glowing a vibrant gold.

"Your Majesty!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed.

King Mickey pulled out a keyblade of his own. The shaft was gold, had a red rim, and the handle was made of silver. "Now Sora, May, and Sarina! Let's close this door for good!" He said with great confidence.

"Right!" The three teenagers said together.

"Close it quick!" Donald said, pushing with all his might.

Sora realized something.

If he closed the door, then Riku and the King would be trapped inside the realm of darkness with the heartless. "But…"

"Don't worry," King Mickey started, "There will always be a door to the light."

"But what you guys?" May asked in worry.

"Kids, you can trust King Mickey," Goofy reassured. His best friend was the most powerful of between him and Donald, and Mickey grew a great amount of wisdom over the years. He would be fine.

"Now! They're coming!" Riku yelled, looking behind him. Thousands upon thousands of heartless crawled towards him and Mickey.

King Mickey looked upon his best friends with an encouraging smile. "Donald, Goofy, thank you."

With one final push, the door was closed, but not without Riku giving Sora one last smile. "Take care of her," Riku said as the door was shut.

Sora jumped back, raised his keyblade with May and Sarina, and the three sealed the the door forever. King Mickey also lifted up his keyblade and sealed the door from him and Riku's side.

The Door to Darkness disappeared in a burst of light, and a snowy pathway to somewhere appeared in its place.

Sora looked up to the sky with tears in his eyes as memories of him and Riku came to him. When they first met as little more than toddlers, when they sat together on the palm branch, when they playfully wrestled together on the beach, and when they raced each other while Kairi followed them, giggling.

They should have never dreamed of leaving home. Now look where they all were.

Sora turned around and saw Kairi standing on a snowy platform. She looked around the area in confusion until she locked eyes with Sora.

He ran to her. May and Donald attempted to follow him, but Goofy stopped them both.

The snow turned to sand underneath Kairi.

"Kairi!" Sora called out to her as he stood in front of her.

"Sora!" She said, reaching out to touch him.

Their hands almost touched before the ground underneath Kairi began to move. She stumbled forward, but Sora caught just in time for a brief moment.

"Kairi? Remember what you said before?" Sora asked as they began to separate. "I'm always with you. I'll come back to you, I promise!"

Kairi bit her lip in sadness, but understanding. "I know you will!"

 _When you walk away,_

 _You don't hear me say_

" _Please, oh babe. Don't go."_

 _Simple and Clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight._

 _It's hard to let it go._

Kairi could only watch as Sora was taken further and further away from her. A tiny ball of light fell into her hands, and she looked up to see millions of balls of light appear in the sky.

 _You're giving me too many things lately_

 _You're all I need,_ _you smiled at me and said_

Sora watched the same occur from his side. May numbly walked up to him and watched silently.

 _"Don't get me wrong, I love you_

 _But does that mean I have to meet your father?"_

 _When we are older you'll understand_

 _What I meant when I said_

 _"No, I don't think life is quite that simple."_

Kairi watched in amazement as pieces of Destiny Island were restored away her. When she looked back at Sora, only a blue light was seen in the ocean.

 _When you walk away, you don't hear me say_

 _"Please, oh baby, don't go."_

 _Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_

 _It's hard to let it go_

The blue then shattered into millions of blue pillars, and they shot up into the sky, taking the form of stars in the sky.

The worlds were being restored as well.

 _So simple and clean_

May pulled Sora away as he found himself still reaching for Kairi.

 _The daily things (like this and that and what is what?)_

 _That keep us all busy are confusing me_

Smiling sadly, Kairi walked to the secret area on the island.

 _That's when you came to me and said_

 _"Wish I could prove I love you_

 _But does that mean I have to walk on water?"_

Kairi looked at the door in the cave. It was the last thing she saw before she disappeared.

Rays of sunlight shone from the cracks of the cave.

 _When we are older you'll understand_

 _It's enough when I say so_

 _And maybe some things are that simple_

Kairi traced her fingers at multiple cave drawings.

She stopped and kneeled down at one particular drawing.

It was of Sora giving her a paopu fruit.

 _When you walk away, you don't hear me say_

 _"Please, oh baby, don't go."_

A tear fell down her cheek as she imagined Sora drawing the scene with his signature goofy grin.

 _Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_

 _It's hard to let it go_

She picked up a sharp rock and began to carve into the picture.

 _Hold me_

 _Whatever lies beyond this morning is a little later on_

 _Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_

 _Nothing's like before_

 _When you walk away, you don't hear me say_

 _"Please, oh baby, don't go."_

 _Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_

 _It's hard to let it go_

 _Hold me_

 _Whatever lies beyond this morning is a little later on_

 _Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_

 _Nothing's like before_

 _Hold me_

 _Whatever lies beyond this morning is a little later on_

 _Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all_

 _Nothing's like before_

She added herself giving Sora his own paopu fruit.


	17. Epilogue

The group was walking along a random pathway somewhere.

"Where do we go now?" May asked.

"I dunno," Sora replied, walking with his hands behind his head, "Wherever the roads lead us."

Sarina sang a song from one of her favorite books.

" _Roads go ever ever on,_

 _Over rock and under tree,_

 _By caves where never sun has shone,_

 _By streams that never find the sea;_

 _Over snow by winter sown,_

 _And through the merry flowers of June,_

 _Over grass and over stone,_

 _And under mountains in the moon,"_ She sang softly to herself as they walked.

"Sing louder, Rini. We need some entertainment wherever we're going," May encouraged.

Sarina blushed deeply and promptly stopped singing.

"But what about Riku and the King," Donald asked glumly.

"We gotta find them," Sora responded casually.

"But, uh, where do we start lookin' for that there door to the light?" Goofy also asked, confused.

Everyone stopped and dramatically sighed.

They were already lost.

"Huh?" Sora asked as he heard footsteps.

Pluto walked in front of them with the happiest smile. When he saw Donald and Goofy, he wagged his tail eagerly at his master's best friends.

"Pluto?" Donald asked, wondering where the hell has the dog been this entire time.

"Hey Pluto," Goofy greeted, "Where have you been?"

Pluto said nothing as he had a letter in his mouth.

It was sealed with the stamp of King Mickey.

"Hey, have you seen King Mickey?" Sora asked, kneeling to the dog's height.

Pluto said nothing. He just simply ran off.

Goofy and Donald looked at each other, wondering if the dog was leading them to King Mickey.

"Come on guys, let's go!" Sora said excitedly. He ran off after Pluto.

"Well, there's nothing else to do," May shrugged before following him.

They all ran off to a whole new adventure.

And the words Sora heard in his dream repeated in his head.

 _'Remember, Sora. You are the one who will open the door to the light.'_

* * *

 _A/N:_ Wow, it's finally over. It took me three years, but I did it.

It was three long years of writer's block, numerous rewrites, title changing, but it was worth it!

This is my first fanfic of this length, and I am now proud to say I am capable of writing over 108,000 words!

Thank you all who have read and reviewed, and those who have contributed to the view count!

Now, I must focus on the sequel to this based on Chain of Memories. Keep on the lookout for _The Lord of Castle Oblivion_!

Excelsior!


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